{"id":17252,"date":"2023-10-26T23:41:24","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/zeno-demonstrates-an-innovative-type-of-radioisotope-heat-source-for-off-grid-power\/"},"modified":"2023-10-26T23:41:24","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:41:24","slug":"zeno-demonstrates-an-innovative-type-of-radioisotope-heat-source-for-off-grid-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/zeno-demonstrates-an-innovative-type-of-radioisotope-heat-source-for-off-grid-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeno demonstrates an innovative type of radioisotope heat source for off-grid power"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/231026-zeno-630x407.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-796361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/231026-zeno-630x407.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/231026-zeno-1260x814.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/231026-zeno-768x496.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/231026-zeno-1536x992.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/231026-zeno-2048x1322.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">Team members at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory remove Zeno Power\u2019s strontium-90 heat source from a transfer port during a series of tests. (Zeno Power Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Zeno Power says it has successfully completed its first demonstration of a new type of radioisotope heat source that could be used to generate off-grid power in settings ranging from the bottom of the ocean to the surface of the moon.<\/p>\n<p>The demonstration \u2014 performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. \u2014 took advantage of the energy provided by the radioactive decay of strontium-90. Zeno said its tests confirmed that the company\u2019s technology can increase the specific power of its heat source compared with previously available strontium-90 heat sources.<\/p>\n<p>Zeno uses radioisotope heat sources as the building blocks for its power-generating systems, which are designed to convert constant thermal energy into electricity. Strontium-90, which is typically created as a byproduct of nuclear fission, is an abundant fuel for such systems \u2014 but existing strontium-based power systems tend to be bulky. Zeno\u2019s design could generate more power with less bulk, opening the way for a wider range of applications.<\/p>\n<p>The work at PNNL involved radioactive and non-radioactive activities, including chemical processing and fuel fabrication, materials handling and heat source characterization. The test data will support further development of heat sources.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SGx2023 - Alex Gilbert, &quot;Bridging Many Worlds  Nuclear Energy and Deep Space Commercialization&quot;\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q60p_avOXfg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Lindsey Boles, Zeno\u2019s vice president of engineering, hailed the demonstration as \u201ca historic moment\u201d in the development of commercial radioisotope power sources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn only five years, Zeno Power went from its founding to fabrication of nuclear hardware, which is notably fast for the nuclear industry,\u201d Boles said in a news release. \u201cWe are now a clear leader and vanguard in delivering advanced nuclear technologies for space and maritime applications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> David Reeploeg, vice president for federal programs at the Tri-Cities Development Council, said Zeno\u2019s technology could address the nuclear waste issue as well the need for off-grid power.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy converting legacy Sr-90 into a long-lasting source of clean energy, Zeno has the potential to play a major role in the cleanup-to-clean-energy vision here in the Tri-Cities,\u201d Reeploeg said. \u201cAt TRIDEC, we\u2019re proud to support Zeno\u2019s efforts that we believe will benefit our local communities while supporting national security goals and the broader clean energy transition,\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zeno Power is a spin-out from Vanderbilt University that has offices in Washington, D.C., and in Seattle. The startup has been awarded more than $40 million in government contracts to date, and plans to have its technology ready for commercial, scientific and national security applications by 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Zeno has received $30 million from the Department of Defense and private investors to build a radioisotope-powered satelites. And this summer, Zeno was awarded a $15 million NASA Tipping Point contract to work on a radioisotope power source that would use americium-241 as fuel. <\/p>\n<p>Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture, based in Kent, Wash., is one of Zeno\u2019s partners on the NASA-backed effort, known as Project Harmonia. If Zeno sticks to its proposed schedule, the Harmonia power system could be demonstrated on the lunar surface in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Team members at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory remove Zeno Power\u2019s strontium-90 heat source from a transfer port during a series of tests. (Zeno Power Photo) Zeno Power says it has successfully completed its first demonstration of a new type of radioisotope heat source that could be used to generate off-grid power in settings ranging from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4533,4442,4534,4535,4443,4316],"class_list":["post-17252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-nuclear","tag-nuclear-power","tag-pacific-northwest-national-laboratory","tag-pnnl","tag-radioisotope-power-systems","tag-zeno-power-systems"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}