Dallas-based hedge fund manager Kyle Bass blasted the US Department of Energy in a post on social media X for transferring nuclear battery technology to China.
"What's going on in the US Department of Energy? Why did we hand this technology over to the Chinese Government?" Bass wrote on X while commenting on Hu Xijin's, the editor-in-chief of Chinese state media Global Times, post.
Bass pointed out, "The Chinese company didn't steal this technology. It was given to them — by the US Department of Energy. First in 2017, as part of a sublicense."
What’s going on in the U.S. Department of Energy? Why did we hand this technology over to the Chinese Government? “The Chinese company didn't steal this technology. It was given to them — by the U.S. Department of Energy. First in 2017, as part of a sublicense, https://t.co/Dnn5GRzYOW
— 🇺🇸 Kyle Bass 🇹🇼 (@Jkylebass) January 14, 2024
"In 2021, as part of a license transfer. An investigation by NPR and the Northwest News Network found the federal agency allowed the technology and jobs to move overseas, violating its own licensing rules while failing to intervene on behalf of US workers multiple times," the China Hawk hedge fund manager continued.
in 2021, as part of a license transfer. An investigation by NPR and the Northwest News Network found the federal agency allowed the technology and jobs to move overseas, violating its own licensing rules while failing to intervene on behalf of U.S. workers multiple times.
— 🇺🇸 Kyle Bass 🇹🇼 (@Jkylebass) January 14, 2024
The Chinese company in focus is "Betavolt," It recently announced it had created an "atomic energy battery that mainly uses nickel-63 as the energy source and diamond semiconductor as the energy converter."
According to tech blog Tom's Hardware, Betavolt's nuclear battery will have a lifespan of 50 years and will target aerospace, AI devices, medical, MEMS systems, intelligent sensors, small drones, and robots.
This means that charging a smartphone may become obsolete in the future.
If Bass' claims are correct, why did DoE allow China to obtain such a game-changing technology?
