Li-ion Batteries are Underwater ‘Game Changer’, says U212 NFS Progamme Manager

The emerging Li-Ion battery technology can be a “game changer in the underwater domain”, Rear Admiral Maurizio Cannarozzo – an Italian Navy (ITN) officer posted as the navy’s U212 Near Future Submarine (NFS) programme manager at the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) – told the Defence Leaders’ ‘Combined Naval Event 2023’, in Farnborough, UK on 23 May.

The ITN is procuring up to four U212 NFS submarines to maintain a force level of eight SSKs, alongside its four in-service Type 212A (T212A) Todaro-class diesel-electric boats. As with their Todaro-class predecessors, the new boats will be procured in two batches of two, with delivery scheduled for 2027 and 2029 (for boats U212 NFS NR.1 and NR.2, respectively) and 2030 and 2031 (for NR.3 and NR.4). In February 2023, it was announced that the programme had passed the Critical Design Review (CDR) milestone, prior to proceeding into production of the first two boats. Earlier this week, came the announcement that construction of the third vessel has been approved by the Italian Parliament.

Within the overarching focus on prioritising the latest technology across the boat’s design and capability, Li-Ion batteries are to be installed across the class. The technology will also be back-fitted into the T212As in future mid-life upgrade work.

“[For U212 NFS] the main design driver has been to develop state-of-the-art technology in any aspect of the submarine’s design and technology,”

Rear Adm Cannarozzo.

The Li-Ion battery has been one of the most important technology advancements in the new boat’s capabilities, he added. If this capability development is completed, then – according to publicly available information – the ITN would be the first European navy to deploy SSKs with Lithium-Ion battery technology.

The Li-Ion technology for the boats has been developed together by OCCAR, the ITN, and industry. This new technology gives improved performance, modularity, and scalability, said Rear Adm Cannarozzo, with the battery also designed for increased capacity to integrate future fuel cell technologies or battery architectures, and to bring reduced maintenance costs. “The higher operational capability has been confirmed by tests,” the admiral added.

Development work on the battery to meet the U212 NFS design and integration requirements is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. This development work includes the battery undergoing its own CDR process. Work is ongoing on battery hardware and software, and on production, testing, and certification processes.

The Li-Ion batteries are one of several critical capability improvements being delivered across the 59 m, 1,955-tonne (dived displacement) U212 NFS boat design, Rear Adm Cannarozzo explained. Set within an overall design focus on modularity, growth capability, and increased integration, these improvements also include: enhanced electro-magnetic warfare capability; additional automation; installation of electronic, electrically activated, masts; an upgraded combat management system; and an improved combat information centre layout.

Overall, Rear Adm Cannarozzo said, the U212 NFS boats provide an evolutionary step on from the revolutionary capability delivered in the T212As, enabling the ITN to maintain consistency in upgrading its underwater capability and flexibility set against increased operational complexity in the underwater domain. As the ITN seeks to continue evolving the capability of the U212 NFS boats, the navy and OCCAR are already assessing any on-the-horizon or over-the-horizon technologies that may offer improved capability. In terms of boat and battery power, one area of focus is energy management.