The UK’s University of Leicester has launched a new spin-out company, Perpetual Atomics, which seeks to revolutionise the application of nuclear technology in space. Perpetual Atomics aims to commercialise the know-how and expertise in space nuclear power developed over more than 20 years at the University of Leicester. The company say it will pursue “innovative solutions to power challenges in space missions, ensuring sustainability and reliability in some of the harshest environments known to humanity”.
Professor Richard Ambrosi, Executive Director of Space Park Leicester, said: “We are entering a new chapter in our journey, one that will see us harness the potential of nuclear technology to power deep space exploration and to pioneer new frontiers and are ready to bring others with us on that journey. The use of nuclear power in space is not just a concept for the future – it’s happening now.”
The technology at the heart of the new venture has the potential to enable longer, more ambitious missions beyond Earth’s orbit in some of the harshest environments of deep space. Perpetual Atomics aims to establish a new global market leader in mature radioisotope power solutions based on two decades of research at the University of Leicester.
The Space Nuclear Power group at the University of Leicester has developed radioisotope power systems that use the heat generated from the decay of radioisotopes, which can be used to provide heat to spacecraft, or converted to electricity to power key subsystems. Their Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs) and Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator or RTG (also sometimes referred to as a ‘space battery’) use americium fuel, which can provide stable power outputs to spacecraft for many decades.
At the University’s £100m ($131m) Space Park Leicester, a space nuclear power community is being developed. The team is the main developer of radioisotope thermoelectric generators in Europe. The technology development has been funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) European Devices Using Radioisotope Energy (ENDURE) programme, as well as the UK Space Agency.
Investment in Perpetual Atomics has been made by Reef Global, the impact investment division within Reef Origin. Piers Slater, Reef Global Executive Chairman and Perpetual Atomics CEO commented: “We are very excited that our first investment in the space sector is in Perpetual Atomics a business aligned with Reef Global’s goal to deliver a sustainable earth and space economy.”
Professor Sarah Davies, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Science & Engineering at the University of Leicester said Perpetual Atomics is an example of the type of business that Space Park Leicester was established to create. “The spin-out launch will seize an opportunity that is already pushing new frontiers for the space industry globally, and we are excited to see it do the same for humanity’s exploration beyond our world. It also further cements Leicester’s place as the UK’s Space City, building on our city’s long heritage in space and its contribution to the region’s economy.”
Julie Black, Director of Missions & Capabilities at the UK Space Agency, said the University of Leicester has long been at the forefront of world leading research into innovative space technologies. “The cutting-edge technology that the team at Perpetual Atomics are developing could not only harness nuclear power to sustain exploration of space for longer periods of time but allow us to venture further into space than ever before, enabling more science and bringing more benefits back to Earth.”
William Wells, Deputy Director Research & Enterprise at the University of Leicester, said Perpetual Atomics will transform power solutions for space and will form part of a growing community of innovative energy businesses at Space Park. “In addition it becomes a further business at Space Park spun out of research at Leicester.”
In September, the Space Nuclear Power group at the University of Leicester reported that it had successfully tested an innovative RTG by subjecting it to extreme shock levels to investigate its resilience for the harsh environment of a launch or planetary surface landing. The RTG that has been under the development leadership of the University of Leicester since 2010, as part of a ESA development programme has been transformed in its generation 5 design.
The shock test required impacting a large metal plate on which the RTG was mounted with a projectile to induce shock in the system. This was carried out nine times to ensure repeatability testing in all three axes. Tests levels exceeded a 5,000g peak which appears to be greater than what has been reported in the literature to date for such systems.
Tony Crawford, the Chief Mechanical Technician and AIV/AIT lead on the project said: “The RTG yet again has exceeded all expectations and this was another critical milestone success. This reinforces the robustness in the design and further accelerates to a mission application.” Dr Ramy Mesalam, the technical lead on the project said: “We are working at pace on this project to bring the technology to the community as rapidly as we can.”
Researched and written by Judith Perera
