{"id":36764,"date":"2026-09-13T10:33:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=36764"},"modified":"2026-09-13T10:33:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T14:33:31","slug":"old-radioactive-material-from-oak-ridge-could-power-the-seafloor-but-the-underwater-station-still-exists-mostly-in-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/old-radioactive-material-from-oak-ridge-could-power-the-seafloor-but-the-underwater-station-still-exists-mostly-in-tests\/36764\/","title":{"rendered":"Old radioactive material from Oak Ridge could power the seafloor, but the underwater station still exists mostly in tests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The next dawn in the United States might bring a new horizon. The country is backing up a new kind of underwater power station, designed to sit on the seafloor for years and supply electricity to sensors or charging points for autonomous underwater vehicles<\/a>. A company called Zeno Power is now responsible for a $7.5 million Department of Defense contract under the DEPTHS program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project hasn\u2019t begun yet, and is still in a stage called \u201cindustrial phase\u201d. Before it starts Zeno is restoring shielded \u201chot cells\u201d at California\u2019s historic Vallecitos Nuclear Center. The project’s planned fuel comes from a strontium-90 generator<\/a> that contains an isotope with a half-life of 28.8 years<\/a>. That means its heat output declines gradually rather than suddenly ending on that date. That thing was stored back 40 years ago at the Department of Energy, in Oak Ridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How a nuclear battery could power the seafloor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Strontium-90 releases heat as it decays into yttrium-90 releasing a reliable and predictable amount of thermal energy in the process. Zeno plans to capture that steady, slowly declining thermal energy with a Stirling converter, which uses a temperature difference to move a piston and generate electricity. What\u2019s interesting is that the converter doesn\u2019t need sunlight, nor a routine refueling or even permanent cables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Read More: A Kansas rancher let 50 wind turbines rise across his 7,000-acre cattle ranch in 2005, and 20 years later the cows still graze beneath them while wind royalties provide roughly half his income and help keep the land in the family<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

That process matters underwater because autonomous vehicles that use batteries are forced to stop their work due to those limitations. On the other hand if they worked with a distributed charging node<\/a> researchers would be able to extend the mission and reduce the costs of the expensive support visits. Retired Adm. John M. Richardson described widespread maritime power access and technological advancement as \u201ccritical to maintaining U.S. leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Concept
A Zeno Power concept shows how a radioisotope power system could provide long-duration electricity to equipment on the seafloor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Old radioactive material becomes a new fuel supply<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fuel source is an old thermoelectric generator called BUP-500. It is a 500-watt radioisotope that was built in the mid-1980 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory but that has never been deployed. Authorities say the unit has been stored for nearly 40 years and that it could still be stored for another 30 years before they need to dispose of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recycled nuclear waste can be a harmful material. Strontium-90 can behave like calcium after ingestion and collect in bones and teeth<\/a>, damaging both bone and bone marrow. A sealed system is different from an environmentally exposed one<\/a>, but any seabed use will demand extra regulatory work and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America tried this idea more than 60 years ago<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t America’ s first rodeo on the subject. Back in December 1961 we had the SNAP program. Under the program we built a 10-watt generator that fueled a Coast Guard light buoy near Baltimore. At some point we also had a larger 60-watt system prepared for a Navy weather buoy in the Gulf of Mexico. Those old tests showed radioisotope power<\/a> could work, but still needed further work on sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Read More: Westinghouse wants up to 91 nuclear units across several countries, but the real bottleneck may begin inside U.S. licensing offices<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s scientists have learned from the past. At Zeno they said their heat-source design can now raise the thermal power available per kilogram, tackling the sustainability problem out of the way. At the same time NASA estimates<\/a> that small Stirling radioisotope systems could convert roughly 15 to 25 percent of their heat into usable electricity. Which in other words means more power can be produced with less need of fuel and other heavy equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The California factory as a milestone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On June 18 2026 Zeno announced they took possession of the hot cells at Vallecitos, in Sunol, California. There the thick-walled rooms allow the technicians to handle radioactive material remotely, through lead-glass windows and using mechanical arms. Thanks to that the company announced that non-radiological work has begun, while radiological operations are expected to start later in 2026 (those are still awaiting approval).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Read More: Norway lowered a 22-ton desalination pod 1,640 feet below the sea, where natural ocean pressure helps it produce up to one million liters of drinking water a day while using far less energy than conventional plants<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The company plans to create more than 50 local jobs over 3 years, plans the first government deliveries in 2027 and also targets scaled production beginning to 2028. Those are estimates, but based on Zeno\u2019s currently published updates the company has demonstrated they still have a long road to walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n