Industry briefings set to convert nuclear radiation directly into high-power electricity for the military

Summary points:

• Exploring new ways to convert nuclear radiation directly into electricity for military applications.
• Aiming to create reliable power sources for remote and harsh environments without the need for refueling.
• DARPA will brief industry on June 20, 2025, on how contractors can contribute to advancing radiation-to-electricity technology.

ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. military researchers will brief industry later this month on a program to convert nuclear radiation directly to electricity to provide long-term unattended power for military applications in which refueling and other support is impractical.

Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., will conduct proposers day briefings from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. eastern time on Friday 20 June 2025 on the future Rads To Watts project.

Rads to Watts will explore new approaches for converting nuclear radiation energy directly into electricity, without taking the interim step of converting radiation to heat before converting it to electricity. Briefings will be at the DARPA Conference Center, 675 N. Randolph St., in Arlington, Va.

The project focuses on radiation voltaics -- also called radiovoltaics -- which converts the energy from ionizing radiation directly into electricity using semiconductor materials. The radiation excites electrons and creates electron-hole pairs in the semiconductor to generate an electrical current.

Radiation to kilowatts

Specifically, Rads to Watts seeks to convert high-power nuclear radiation into kilowatts of electrical energy to create long-term high-power sources for military applications that must operate in harsh and remote areas.

Radiation-induced defects in radiovoltaics can degrade the performance and lifespans of today's radiovoltaics at the materials and device levels when exposed to high-power radiation sources.

Instead, Rads to Watts will encourage contractors to go beyond typical low-power radiovoltaic architectures and semiconductors with low-fluence tolerance for long-lived high power conversion.

Register for the in-person Rads To Watts briefings no later than Friday 13 June 2025 online at https://events.sa-meetings.com/website/86951/. Email questions or concerns to DARPA's Tabitha Dodson, the Rads to Watts program manager, at [email protected]. More information is online at https://sam.gov/opp/31682dd7e943437fac212aa395e949f6/view.