The biggest toll processing challenge of the next decade is designing and mass producing the battery of the future, but exactly what form that takes could vary dramatically given the huge number of competing technologies.
The most recent revolutionary discovery was the development of the Betavolt BV100, an atomic battery the size of a coin that uses nickel-63 isotopes to generate 100 microwatts and a 3V voltage.
This is a relatively small amount, but the main advantage is that according to the Chinese startup that developed the technology with an eye towards mass production, it could generate electricity for 50 years without being charged.
This means that, if it could be installed in sequence, it could potentially lead to smartphones that never need to be charged again or drones that are not limited to 15 minutes of flight but can fly in effective perpetuity.
It would also, again according to Betavolt, work in temperatures as freezing as -60 degrees Celsius and as high as 120 degrees Celsius, whilst not emitting any external radiation.
This latter point is vital, as one of the biggest use cases of a long-term battery such as this is in medical technology implants such as pacemakers and hearing aids.
The first non-military use of nuclear batteries was in the use of NUMEC cardiac pacemakers, using a battery-powered by a plutonium-238 isotope.
The programme lasted 22 years before the rise of much safer lithium-ion battery pacemakers, but they still have an advantage that they never need replacing.
Similarly, whilst the issue of disposing of lithium batteries is one of the catalysts for a new wave of battery evolution, Betavolt claim that when the radioactive decay period ends, the nuclear battery stabilises into copper
The biggest challenge is making a large enough battery to viably power electronic devices, with the company planning to launch a 1W battery in 2025.