The South West Nuclear Hub is pleased to welcome Arkenlight Ltd. as the latest member of its Innovation Network.
Formed in 2020, Arkenlight is the natural progression of the ASPIRE diamond group at the University of Bristol; a team of energy and diamond material scientists in the schools of Physics and Chemistry.
The company is driven by a mission to recycle wastes from the nuclear power industry such as Tritium and Carbon-14 and safely convert them into useful products with ultra-long-lived power requiring zero maintenance, operable in nearly any environment.
Current devices include a betalight voltaic battery that generates electrical current from a gaseous tritium light source, with diamond gammavoltaics, and beta batteries currently in development.
The 1st phase of prototyping our CVD diamond Tritium betavoltics. They have travelled 12,000 miles round-trip to Japan and back. Inside the Kyoto University Reactor for 1 hour at 5 MW power, they have had Tritium transmuted into their lattice making them the first of their kind! pic.twitter.com/1obqEFseIn
— Arkenlight (@arkenlight) April 25, 2021
Morgan Boardman, CEO of Arkenlight commented:
“The South West Nuclear Hub has been a highly valuable resource for us. The fundamental research conducted by the scientists at the Hub is done with a refreshing commercial aspect in mind.
When provided a challenge from industry or government the Hub delivers more than the research; they provide invaluable insight into the commercialisation route and optionality for everything from supply to potential customers and support the commercialisation process.
We are pleased and honoured to be a part of the South West Nuclear Hub Innovation Network.”
South West Nuclear Hub Innovation Network Membership
Innovation Network membership is aimed at companies seeking to enter the nuclear technology development pipeline, e.g. offering knowledge transfer. Principally spin-outs, start-ups, SMEs and sector-jumpers.
There is no cost to join the Innovation Network, but proactive engagement is expected upon signing the agreement. Members in this tier can progress into the Applied Research membership category when collaborative projects and deeper engagement are initiated. Here, members can choose an incremental, (capped) project-based fee or an upfront flat rate.
Find out more on our Membership page or view the Innovation Network Brochure