⚡ Energy Research — World-Scale Energy Transition Papers
A three-paper series on the energy transition, written by Bartosz Osiej. Each paper follows the same discipline: real physics first, honest arithmetic, hype last. Together they answer the transition's three problems — micro-power where autonomy matters, multi-day storage for the lull, and firm baseload for the backbone.
All papers are open-access (CC-BY-4.0), readable in the browser below, and downloadable as PDF. Source
.texfiles are available in the repository.
🔋 1. Atomic Batteries (Betavoltaics)
Betavoltaic Nuclear Batteries for Mobile Devices: A Comprehensive Technical Review and Feasibility Analysis
Bartosz Osiej — August 2026 · Review paper · CC-BY-4.0
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Betavoltaic Nuclear Batteries for Mobile Devices: A Comprehensive Technical Review and Feasibility Analysis |
| Author | Bartosz Osiej |
| Published | 2026-08 |
| Type | Technical review + quantitative feasibility model |
| License | CC-BY-4.0 |
| Keywords | betavoltaics · nuclear battery · Ni-63 · tritium · diamond semiconductors · mobile power |
| Language | English |
| File | atomic_battery.pdf (350 kB) |
📖 Full text (read in the browser)
Direct links: ⬇ Download PDF
📋 Abstract
We review the physics, materials, and economics of betavoltaic nuclear batteries and test them honestly against the demands of a smartphone. The physics is real: beta decay (³H, ⁶³Ni, ¹⁴⁷Pm, ¹⁴C) delivers megajoules per gram, an energy density 30,000–50,000× that of lithium-ion, and Betavolt's BV100 (2024) proved a commercial 100 µW cell. The arithmetic is unforgiving: a full smartphone replacement needs 7.2×10¹⁵ Bq of ⁶³Ni — 3.4 kg of nickel-63, ~97 kCi per watt, and 320–970 kCi at realistic 1–3% conversion efficiency, a radiologically and economically impossible device. The hybrid case (a betavoltaic trickle charger for standby) is feasible but marginal: 1 mW covers only ~2% of standby demand; full standby coverage needs 6.7 kCi ≈ 120 g of Ni. The verdict is honest: betavoltaics are a real product for µW niches (pacemakers, IoT, sensors, space) — not a smartphone technology. The paper includes full dosimetry, regulatory analysis (exempt concentrations, ADR transport), a 2024–2050 roadmap, and a comparison against competing micro-power technologies.
🔩 2. The Iron Age of Grid Storage
The Iron Age of Grid Storage: Iron–Air Batteries as a World-Scale Solution for Multi-Day Energy Storage
Bartosz Osiej — August 2026 · Review paper · CC-BY-4.0
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | The Iron Age of Grid Storage: Iron–Air Batteries as a World-Scale Solution for Multi-Day Energy Storage |
| Author | Bartosz Osiej |
| Published | 2026-08 |
| Type | Technical review + quantitative techno-economic model |
| License | CC-BY-4.0 |
| Keywords | iron–air battery · long-duration storage · grid storage · LCOS · Form Energy · dunkelflaute |
| Language | English |
| File | iron_air.pdf (283 kB) |
📖 Full text (read in the browser)
Direct links: ⬇ Download PDF
📋 Abstract
Iron–air batteries convert iron to rust and back — an electrochemistry with a theoretical 1.28 V, 960 mAh/g, and
1,200 Wh/kg of iron: the energy of a kilogram of lithium-ion cells for the price of a few cents of metal. This paper builds the complete case: the cell chemistry and its four engineering killers (round-trip efficiency, parasitic hydrogen evolution, the bifunctional air electrode, CO₂ and water management); a transparent model of a 100 MW / 100 h = 10 GWh plant (17,000 t of iron at under 1% of system cost, $200–400M capital versus $2.9B for the equivalent lithium-ion stack); an LCOS analysis ($32/MWh for 100-hour firmness versus $58–78/MWh for 4-hour Li-ion); the world-scale numbers (8 TW / $4 trillion market to 2040, 1.5–2.3 Gt CO₂/yr avoided); a week-long dunkelflaute operating simulation; regional case studies (Texas, California, Germany, Poland); manufacturing and supply-chain economics; safety, standards, and end-of-life; and an honest risk section with hard due-diligence data (36–50% round-trip efficiency, 40–100 cycles/year). The conclusion: iron–air is the most credible path to terawatt-scale multi-day storage — the engineering companion to the firm baseload analyzed in the companion paper on superhot rock geothermal.
🌋 3. Digging for the Sun — Superhot Rock Geothermal
Digging for the Sun: Superhot Rock Geothermal as the World-Scale Source of Clean Baseload Power
Bartosz Osiej — August 2026 · Review paper · CC-BY-4.0
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Digging for the Sun: Superhot Rock Geothermal as the World-Scale Source of Clean Baseload Power |
| Author | Bartosz Osiej |
| Published | 2026-08 |
| Type | Technical review + quantitative techno-economic model |
| License | CC-BY-4.0 |
| Keywords | superhot rock · supercritical geothermal · EGS · gyrotron drilling · firm power · baseload · LCOE |
| Language | English |
| File | superhot_geothermal.pdf (277 kB) |
📖 Full text (read in the browser)
Direct links: ⬇ Download PDF
📋 Abstract
Wind and solar solved the cost problem; iron–air storage is solving the multi-day problem; what remains is firm baseload for weeks-long lulls, industrial heat, and energy security. Superhot rock (SHR) geothermal extracts heat from rock at 374 °C and above — beyond the supercritical point of water — reached by drilling 5–20 km. At those conditions supercritical water carries 3–5× the enthalpy per kilogram, so a single well delivers an order of magnitude more power than a conventional well. The resource is effectively unlimited: 1% of the US superhot resource is 4.3 TW. The honest bottleneck is drilling cost. This paper reviews the physics (with real steam-table data), a century of drilling history (Kola 12.3 km, Fenton Hill, Soultz, IDDP-1/2, Fervo), the gyrotron drilling program, subsurface engineering, regulation, and environmental footprint — and builds a transparent 100 MWe techno-economic model. The honest central estimate is $66–90/MWh at today's drilling costs (competitive with gas with carbon cost); it falls to ~$45/MWh only if the DOE Enhanced Geothermal Shot's 90% drilling-cost reduction is delivered. The case in one sentence: the geology is ready, the drilling is the bet, and the prize is terawatt-scale anywhere-on-Earth clean baseload.
💚 Support
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