Researchers in China have developed a nuclear battery using the carbon-14 isotope. The breakthrough was achieved jointly by scientists at Northwest Normal University in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, and the private nuclear medicine company WuXi Beta PharmaTech in Jiangsu Province.

The battery, named Chulong-1, can operate across an extremely wide temperature range — from very cold to very hot — and is capable of storing ten times more energy than conventional lithium-ion batteries.

It can generate electricity continuously for around 100 years, making it particularly suitable for locations requiring long-term power supply, such as polar regions, deep-sea environments, or spacecraft.