Framatome and Perpetual Atomics to Advance Industrialisation of Space Batteries for Space Exploration

Framatome (ENS Corporate Member) and Perpetual Atomics have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study the industrialisation of processing americium into sealed sources for radioisotope power systems (“space batteries”), including radioisotope heater units (RHUs) and radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs).

A radioisotope power system, or space battery, harnesses the decay of radioisotopes to generate heat, which can be used as a heat source or converted into electricity.

Americium-241, with a half-life of approximately 430 years, is particularly well-suited for long-duration space missions. This collaboration aims to scale up the production and manufacturing of these critical power systems to support future space exploration efforts.

Framatome Space and Framatome Ltd will be supporting the UK and European Space Agency’s lunar and Mars mission programmes planned for the latter part of this decade.

Read the full Framatome Press Release.

In September 2022, the European Nuclear Society High Scientific Council launched its Position Paper “Nuclear Energy for Space Exploration“, which focuses on the crucial role of nuclear energy and nuclear solutions for deep space exploration.

The Position Paper, highly appreciated by the scientific community, has been presented at a special event, organised in Brussels under the Czech EU Presidency and in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.

The event involved high-level stakeholders and experts, EU institutions, academia, research institutes, and space industry representatives.

“Nuclear Energy for Space Exploration” has been recorded and is available on the ENS YouTube Channel.