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Draft:City Labs

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City Labs, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryEnergy, Technology
FoundedApril 2005; 19 years ago (2005-04)
FoundersPeter Cabauy, Denset Serralta
HeadquartersMiami, Florida, U.S.
Key people
Peter Cabauy (CEO)
ProductsNanoTritium betavoltaic batteries
Websitecitylabs.net

City Labs, Inc. is a Florida-based corporation specializing in designing, developing, and manufacturing low-power, long-life tritium-powered nuclear batteries. City Labs operates a regulatory-licensed R&D/manufacturing facility located in Miami, Florida.

History

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City Labs, Inc. was founded in April 2005 by Peter Cabauy and Denset Serralta.[1][2] The company was initially comprised of scientists and engineers from national laboratories and universities, including Larry C. Olsen, an early pioneer of betavoltaic technology.[3]

City Labs developed its first tritium-based betavoltaic battery prototype in 2008.[4] These prototypes were tested by Lockheed Martin, who found the batteries to be resistant to temperature extremes (from -55°C to +150°C), vibration, and altitude.[5]

In October 2010, City Labs received Sealed Source Device Registration (SSDR) followed by a General License for the distribution of its tritium betavoltaic batteries, which allows end-users to purchase and receive the batteries without needing prior radiation licenses or training.[6][7]

Products and Technology

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City Labs invented NanoTritium batteries, a type of betavoltaic device that utilize beta particles emitted from the radioactive decay of tritium, a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen, to provide low but continuous amounts of power.[8]

NanoTritium batteries are manufactured in electronic chip form, and provide low-level power to electronics boards.[9] As tritium's half-life is 12.32 years, these batteries are capable of providing predictable and steady power output over their lifespan, which can last 20 years or more.[10]

Applications

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City Labs has been awarded over $8 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant funding from various U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and National Institutes of Health, to support the development of tritium-powered medical implants, cryptographic power solutions, and various aerospace technologies.[11]

City Labs has collaborated with NASA on projects aimed at developing NanoTritium power sources for future space applications, including developing autonomous tritium micropowered sensors to detect water and other volatiles in permanently shadowed craters located on the Moon's south pole.[12][13]

City Labs also participates in the Tritium Focus Group (TFG), a standing Department of Energy working group that regularly meets to discuss cost-effective improvements in tritium science.[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ "Tritium Battery Gets NASA's Attention". ASME.
  2. ^ "City Labs About Us". City Labs.
  3. ^ "Homestead's City Labs makes first commercial tritium battery". Miami Herald.
  4. ^ "Tritium nanobattery lasts in smaller spaces". EE Times. 14 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Commercially-available NanoTritium battery can power microelectronics for 20+ years". New Atlas. 16 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Registry of Radioactive Sealed Sources and Devices Safety Evaluation" (PDF). United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
  7. ^ "City Labs' Licensing". City Labs. 18 January 2011.
  8. ^ Olsen, Larry (2012-12-01). "Betavoltaic power sources". Physics Today. Vol. 65, no. 12. American Institute of Physics. pp. 35–38. doi:10.1063/PT.3.1820.
  9. ^ Colozza, Anthony J.; Cataldo, Robert L. (October 2018). "Low Power Radioisotope Conversion Technology and Performance Summary". NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server. pp. 3–4.
  10. ^ "NanoTritium battery is good for twenty years (or more)". Phys.org.
  11. ^ "City Labs Inc. Company Portfolio". SBIR.gov.
  12. ^ "Autonomous Tritium Micropowered Sensors". NASA. 4 January 2024.
  13. ^ "City Labs Unveils New Tritium-Based Technology to Power Future NASA Missions". SpaceRef. 21 June 2023.
  14. ^ "32nd Tritium Focus Group Meeting" (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy.
  15. ^ "Tritium Focus Group". Savannah River National Laboratory.