For a satellite in deep space or a drone underwater, running out of juice means the mission is over. Solar panels don’t work in the dark, and standard batteries don’t last long enough.

In an attempt to develop a solution, Avalanche Energy landed a $5.2 million contract from DARPA to build a high-tech nuclear battery. The goal is to create a power source that can keep a laptop-sized device running for months on end while weighing only a few kilograms.

These new cells use “alpha particles” from radioisotopes. It’s similar to a solar panel, but instead of catching sunlight, it catches energy from tiny particles to make electricity. Because these systems don’t rely on the Sun or a charging cable, they can work in the harshest spots imaginable.

Developing Better Batteries and Advancing Nuclear Fusion

Avalanche is actually a fusion company, aiming to build small, modular fusion machines that could eventually power everything from data centers to remote military bases.

The tech they are building for DARPA is just the beginning. By learning how to turn high-energy particles into electricity now, they are figuring out how to make their future fusion reactors much more efficient.

“The DARPA contract represents a critical milestone in our path to practical fusion power,” said Robin Langtry, co-founder and CEO of Avalanche Energy. “The direct energy conversion technologies we’re developing under Rads to Watts will be essential for extracting power from fusion reactions efficiently.”

Langtry added, “We’re building the capabilities today that will enable tomorrow’s fusion systems to deliver reliable, portable energy for defense, space, and commercial applications.”

Avalanche is working with experts from the University of Utah, Caltech, and Los Alamos National Laboratory to get it done.