Submarine Lithium-ion Batteries - Third Review of Battery Arrangements

Following "Huge Study on Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) for Submarines" of December  16, 2019 Anonymous has kindly written a Third Review of Lithium-ion Battery (LIB) arrangements. The Second Review was not published. Changes are in pink. The main revisions are as follows:

1.    Detail description of LIBs for Russian submarine including Kilo-class. Figs. 8 and 9 were added.

2.    Description of LIBs for Japanese submarine.

3.    Addition of Energy density in Table 3 and

4.    Format and expressions were changed to accord Submarine Matters' usage.

No patents on NCA by Japanese company GS-YUASA could be found. No information on sales and  manufacturing of NCA by GS-YUASA could be found.

Anonymous thinks GS-YUASA buys NCA batteries or has a manufacturing license approved by the  Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD). If that is the case, the NCA supplier/licensor (X ) needs the following:

i)            X has patents of NCA, is manufacturing NCA and has enough technology.

ii)           X has a strong and stable financing  (big company),

iii)          X is relied by MOD (X has been reliable Japanese supplier of MOD), 

iv)          there is a reliable relationship between X and GS-YUASA.  A company that satisfies

              conditions i) - iii) is only Panasonic as far as Anonymous knows. 

A few years ago, Panasonic sold all LABs sections to GS-YUASA  making it the biggest LAB manufacturer in Japan. From these facts, Anonymous believes Panasonic offers NCA technology to GS-YUASA.

In this Third Review below recent information on LIBs in Submarine Matters are reviewed with additional new insights, and they are summarized. Battery cells suitable for submarine are estimated from published data, and battery modules and battery groups are also estimated. Finally, energy of battery is estimated. As many assumptions are used, the estimations in this contribution might sometimes be different from fact.

Summary (of possible adoption of Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) in future submarine classes):

-      In current AIP submarines which have Lead-acid Batteries (LABs), the energy of LIBs is considerably lower than for non-AIP submarine (like Soryu/29SS). Soryu/29SS will show best performance at high speed (Table 4).

-      The LIBs in future South Korean 2000t (eg. the DSME 2000) and 3000t (eg. The KSS-III Batch 2) subs will generate higher energy at ever lower cost. The 2000t submarine will become a strong competitor of the future Type 214-LIB (which may have LIBs).

-      In the TKMS Type 212CD and Italian built Type 212NSF, non-magnetic hulls and minimal magnetic field created by batteries will be important. For those subs the width of a battery group is narrow to make variation of vertical position of battery groups small.

-      Australia’s future Attack-class may adopt bigger battery groups than Type 212CDs. If Naval Group fully adopt LIBs in the early 2020s, then possible NAVAL Group Shortfin for - Walrus replacement and future LIB-Scorpene may precede an Attack class equipped with LIBs - with all Naval Group classes adopting the same LIBs battery groups. If the future Attack-class retains LABs then this may be a waste of time and money.

-     Numbers and energy (192pieces, 6.1MWh) of LIBs for China’s Yuan 039B is significantly smaller than reported ones (960 pieces, 32MWh). WB-LYP10000AHA shows excellent performance as Iron Phosphate based battery.

-     Energy level of LIBs (if adopted) for Lada/Amur-class is as same as Western counterparts.[This is noting that Russia has made so little progress with AIP (for Ladas/Amurs in 20 years) that Russia may upgrade future Ladas/Amurs instead]. As Kilo-class is a proven subamerine at a  reasonable price, LIB-Kilo is an attractive choice than Amur-class for some countries.

-      SAAB-DAMEN equips with bigger [heavier] LIBs to satisfy Netherland Navy requirements [for more energy in its 3,000 ton A26s to replace the Walrus's].

-      Currently, safety (=no hydrogen generation) and better maintenance of LIBs are emphasized rather than increase in energy except Soryu/29SS (see SORYU TABLE).

Figure 1

While voltage of LAB is 2V and all of LABs are directly connected to produce high voltage, voltage of LIB is much higher (nominal voltage : 3.2-3.7V) and combination of direct and parallel connection is adopted in LIBs. Favorable numbers of battery groups and battery strings are multiples of four (4, 8, 12, etc.) for minimization of stray magnetic field.

Port

Parallel connection of battery strings

Stern Series connection of battery groups

Bow

Starboard

Figure 1   Battery group arrangement and its connection for LIB-submarine

Table 1 Definition of terms

Term	Definition
Battery	A parallel circuit composed of battery groups (blue area surrounded by double solid lines in Fig.1).
Battery string	A series of battery groups;
Battery group	A parallel circuit composed of battery lines (blue area surrounded by single solid lines in Fig.1),
Battery line	A series circuit composed of individual battery cells

Asubmarine has one battery or two batteries. Favorable numbers of battery groups and battery strings are multiples of four (4, 6, 12, etc.) for minimization of indiscrete stray magnetic fields [that enemy sensors may detect. Stray magnetic fields may also adversely effect electrical/electronic equipment in a submarine]. Figure 1 is a battery consisted of 8 battery strings where a battery string consists of 8 battery groups.

Table 2  Lithium ion battery cells for LIB-submarine

Lithium ion battery cells are listed in Table 2. The battery cells of FAAM and SAFT are square and others are cylindrical. Square battery cell shows higher efficiency than cylindrical one. Polymer (PO), LFP (lithium ion phosphate), LYP (lithium Ytterium) show higher safety. The best battery cell of the manufacturer is used for submarine.

SAMSUNG SDI shows high performance and excellent price by adopting commercial battery cells for EV (Electric Vhicle). As a reference, Russian latest square type cell (Liotech, LT-LFP72) is introduced. Energy density of LT-LYP (Yttrium added LFP)770 is lower than LT-LFP72[14].

  

Cell name	Make	Type	D	W	H or L	Weight	Voltage	Capacity	Energy density *6	Ref
			mm	mm	mm	kg	V	Ah	Wh/kg
SLPB160460330H	Kokam	NMC PO (*1)	14.8	462	327	4.58	3.7	200	164	1
SLPB160460330	Kokam	NMC PO	15.8	462	327	4.51	3,7	240	197	1
94Ah	SAMSUNG SDI	Prismatic NCM	45	173	125	2.01	3.68	94	174	4
111Ah	SAMSUNG SDI	Prismatic NCM	45	173	125	2.01	3.68	111	204	5,6
-	FAAM	LFP	63 (*3)	-	225	1.51	3.2	65	139	7
-	GS-YUASA	NCA	-	-	-	-	3.6	-	250 (*2)
NCA103450 (*2)	Panasonic	NCA	10.5	33.8	48.5	0.0383	3.6	2.35	220	20
SCiB™ 20Ah	Toshiba	LTO	22	116	106	0.515	2.38	20	89.3	8
SCiB™ 23Ah	Toshiba	LTO	22	116	106	0.55	2.38	23	96.1	8
VL56E (*2)	SAFT	LFP	54.1 (*2)	-	244 (*4)	1.17	3.3	56	158	10
LT-LFP 72 (*5)	Liotech	LFP	135	30	222	= or less than 1.8	3.2	72	130	14

*1 Lithium polymer battery

*2 General data of NCA (Lithium Nickel Aluminum)

*3 Diamter

*4 Estimation by using SAFT VL48E and VL52LE

*5 The third generation LFP. Liotech is Russian Lithium ion battery maker.

*6 Energy = Capacity x Vlotage, Energy density =Energy/weight

*7 There is no information on NCA by GS-YUASA. Panasonic NCA103450 is introduced as a reference instead.

Table 3  Lithium ion battery modules (single module) for LIB-submarine

Various factors including diameter of submarine hatch, curvature of pressure hull, dimension and location of batteries, numbers of battery groups and battery modules (4, 8, 12, etc.), and size and performance of battery cell are considered to decide architecture of battery modules.

Details of SAFT-TKMS battery group are not reported, but, its footprint is expected to resemble FAAM battery group. SAFT-NAVAL battery group is hypothetical model based on SAFT-TKMS battery group.

WB-LYP10000AHA will be exchanged through larg hatch, not hatch for crew. If WB-LYP10000AHA has two layers-strucure, then, number of cells is 22. Yttrium is a rare earth element and the major producing country is China. 

Module name	Make	Cell name	Cell	D	W	H	Weight	Voltage	Capacity	Energy	Energy density	Ref
			number-	mm	mm	mm	kg	V	Ah	kWh	Wh/kg
Green Orca	Floattech	SLPB160460330H	14	542	335	541	82	51.8	200	10.3	126	2
Green Orca	Floattech	SLPB160460330	14	542	335	541	80	51.8	240	12.4	155	3
M8994 E2 (*1)	SAMSUNG SDI	94Ah	24	370	588	160	Less than 60	88.3	94	8.39	138	5,6
E3-090	SAMSUNG SDI	111Ah	24	370	588	160	Less than 60	88.3	111	9.91	163	5,6
-	FAAM	-	24	252	378	225	More than 36	76.8	65	5.00	139	7
-	GS-YUASA	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	178 (*7)
20Ah 2P12S	Toshiba	SCiB™ 20Ah	24	360	190	125	14	27.6	40	1.10	79	9
23Ah 2P12S (*2)	Toshiba*1	SCiB™ 23Ah	24	360	190	125	15	27.6	45	1.24	83
(*3)	SAFT-TKMS	VL56E	16	237	586	131	Less than 20	52.8	56	2.95	148
(*4)	SAFT-NAVAL	VL56E	24	345	530	131	Less than 30	39.6	112	4.43	148
(*5)	Liotech	LT-LFP 72	36	270	540	222	64.8	57.2	144	8.23	127	19
(*6)	Winston Battery	WB-LYP10000AHA	11	367	687	756	335	3.2	10000	3210	96	16

*1 Voltage can be adjusted by change of cell connection.

*2 Estimation by using various Toshiba [8,10]

*3 Estimation by using various SAFT publications and TKMS LIB [11,12,13]. Footprint of SAFT-TKMS is assumed to be as same as FAAM.

*4 This model is hypothetical. Change battery change through a hatch with diameter of 650-711mm [15], which is estimated from hatch of Suffren submarine, and cell of VL56E are considered.

*5 Estimation based on battery arrangement of Kilo-class.

*6 LYP = Lithium Yttrium Iron Phosphate, WB-LYP10000AHA shows excellent energy density (185Wh/kg) as Iron Phoshate based battery.

*7 Esimation by using Pnasonic NCA103450 cell, SAMSUNG SDI 111Ah cell and SAMSUNG SDI E3-090 module

Figures 2 to 9

Battery modules and battery groups based on FAAB cell, latest SAFT VL56E cell and LT LFP 72 cell are proposed in these figures. Dimension of FAAB battery module is decided based on perspective view of Type 212A and picture of FAAB battery module. The SAFT modules and groups are assumed to be different from SAFT commercial Flex’ionTM Figures 4&6 and 5&7 correspond to SAFT-TKMS and SAFT-NAVAL, respectively. Improvement of FAAB and SAFT cylindrical cells to square type cells will provide increase of energy (e.g., plus 20%).

In Figures 8 and 9, Lada-class (single hull, beam 7.1m) and Kilo-class (double hull, dianmeter of inner hull 7.2m) were compared, also LABs arrangement in Kilo-class (12 x 15 LABs and 8 x 15LABs under diesel and torpedo sections, respectively) were considered to estimate number and dimension of battery groups and their arrangement.

W=378mm

D=252mm

BTU (*1)

BTU

H= ca.1100mm

W=378mm

D=252mm

H=225mm

Front view

Side view

Front view

Side view

Figure 2  Battery module consists of 24 FAAB cells  24 cylindrical battery cells (diameter 63mm, blue solid line) are vertically arranged.

Figure 3  Battery group consists of 4 layers of [24 FAAB cells]-modules Battery modules (blue solid line) & battery group (double solid line). (*1) Battery Management Unit = BMU.

						W=530mm
								D=345mm
	W=586mm
			D=273mm
	Top view					Top view
			H=131mm					H=131mm
	Front view					Front view
Figure 4  Battery module consists of 16 VL56E cells Battery module consists of 2 battery trays. A battery tray consists of horizontally arranged 8 VL56E cylindrical cells (diameter 54.1mm, solid line). Inner diameter of submarine hatch is assumed to be 650-711mm.					Figure 5  Battery module consist of 24 VL56E cells Battery module consists of 2 battery trays. A battery tray consists of  horizontally arranged 12 VL56E cylindrical cells (diameter 54.1mm, diblue solid line). Inner diameter of submarine hatch is assumed to be 650-711mm.

  

	W=586mm	D=273mm					W=530mm	D=345mm
H= ca. 1200mm	BTU		BTU			H=ca.1200mm	BTU		BTU
	Front view	Side view					Front view	Side view
Figure 6  Battery group consists of 8 layers of [16-VL56E cells]-modules. Battery modules (blue solid line) & battery group (double solid line) are assumed from pictures of TKMS battery modules and data of SAFT battery cells/modules.						Figure 7  Battery group consists of 8 layers of [24-VL56E cells]-modules Structure of battery group (double solid line) is based on Figure 6 and maximum package of battery modules (blue solid line). Height is estimated from curvature of pressure hull and other factors.

W=540mm

Top view

D=270mm

H=222mm

Front view

Side view

Figure 8  Battery module consists of 36 LT-LFP 72 cells Number (n) of battery cell is assumed to be 36, but, n = 34 also is possible. Encloseute is neglected..

	W=540mm	D=270-300mm
	BTU		BTU
H=1250mm
	Front view	Side view
Figure 9  Battery group consists of 4 [36-LT-LFP 72 cells] modules Enclosure of battery group is considered. Diameter of hatch is 650mm. Height of battery group is estimated from perspective of Kilo-class

Table 4  Structures of battery group and energy of battery for LIB-submarine

Explanation – Battery Management Unit (BMU) is located on the top of battery group (Table 3 (a)). Adoption of LIBs does not always provide significant increase in absolute energy of batteries. Increase in actual energy due to bigger depth of discharge in LIBs (80%), easy maintenance and higher safety without generation of hydrogen are achieved for LIBs. As output of AIP is not high, increase of LIBs is important to improve performance of submarine at high speed. Adoption of optical mast provides improved freedom of sections and arrangement of batteries. Here batteries are assumed to locate under diesel generator and torpedo sections. 

A Non-AIP submarine is equipped with larger amounts of LIBs than AIP submarine as shown in the Soryu/29SS and Kilo. As estimated energy of a LAB battery group for Kilo-class is 3.36MWh (*11), considerting depth of discharge (DOD, 50% for LABs and 80% for LIBs), energy of LIBs will increase 3.8-4.8 times of LABs. Kilo-class is a proven submarine with reasonable price. Therefore, LIB-Kilo may be more attravtive choise than Amur- class, which has unproven AIP and single hull structure (Russian submarine has double hull structure), for some countries.

a	Configura-tion of a battery group: BMU (Battery Management Unit, ye1low), battery modules (blue solid line), battery group (double solid line)
b	Make	GS-YUASA				SAMSUNG SDI			SAFT-TKMS		SAFT- NAVAL	FAAM				Liotech				Floattech						Winston Battery
c	Submarine builder	KHI/MHI				HHI(Hyndai Heavy Industries)			TKMS		NAVAL-ASC	FINCAN-TIERI				Russia				SAAB-DAMEN			SAAB			China
d	Number of battery modules in a battery group	10				8			8		8	4				5				2			2			1
f	Voltage of a battery group [V] (*1)	36				88.3			52.8		39.6	76.8				57.4				51.8			51.8			3.2
g	Energy of a battery group [kWh]	86(*10)				70.2 (*2)			23.6 (*3)		35.5 (*4)	20.0				41.1				37.2 (*5)			24.8 (*5)			32
h	Submarine	Soryu/29SS				3000t-class	2000t-class		Type 212CD		Attack-class	Type 212NFS				Kilo (*9) Lada Amur				SAAB-DAMEN			A26			Type 039B
i	Number of batteries	2				2	2		2		2	1				2				2			2			2
j	Number of battery strings (stern+bow *6)	28+28				12+12	8+8		12+12		16+12	0+24				10+15 12+12 8+8				8+12			8+12			8+8
k	Number of battery groups in a battery string (*7)	12				8	8		12		12	8				12+8 8 8				12			8			12
l	Energy of batteries [MWh]	58				15.2	10.1		6.8		11.9	3.8				9.9 7.9 5.3				8.9			4.0			6.1 *8

*1 Guideline of (f) and (j ) is 400V< (f) x (j) < 800V considering maximum and minimum voltage of battery cell.

*2 SAMSUNG SDI 111Ah cell and 24-cell module

*3 SAFT VL56E cell and 16-cell module

*4 SAFT VL56E cell and 24-cell module

*5 Kokam SLPB160460330 cell and 14-cell module

*6 Stern and bow batteries are placed under diesel generator and torpedo sections, respectively for submarines except Soryu/29SS.

*7 As battery groups and battery strings are directly and parallel connected, respectively.

*8 As diameter of hatch for exchange of WB-LYP 10000AHA is more than 780mm whitch is too big for crew, WB-LYP 10000AHA may be exchanged through hatches on the diesel and torpedo sections with 6-7m in length. Considering that footprint of WB-LYP 10000AHA is 1.32 times bigger than GS-YUASA LIB, that Type 039B is 80% smaller than AIP-Soryu MKI and that Type 039B is tear-drop type double hull structured, Type 098 may equip with ca. 200 battery groups at most (half of Soryu MKI). So, Type 039 equips two batteries of 6.1MW which considerably smaller than reported [18].

*9 Rubin Design Bereau of Russia is considering LIB – Kilo-class. Kilo-class has two batteries consist of 240 LABs. Estimated arrangement of LABs is 8 x 15 and 12 x 10 under torpedo and diesel sections. Arrengement of LIBs is expected to be the same.

*10 Estimation by using Panasonic NCA103450 cel, SAMSUNG SDI 111Ah cell, SAMSUNG SDI E-30] and its module E3-0903. In the 4 layered battery group (d=4), energy will be 80% of Table 4 (l).

*11 Size (D540mm x W270mm x H1200mm) and volumetric energy (80kWh/L) are assumed for LABs.

References

[1] http://m.kokam.com/m/?id=245

[2] https://www.est-floattech.com/app/uploads/2019/06/greenorca-technicalbrochure-144dpi.pdf

[3] Estimation based on [2]

[4] https://pushevs.com/2018/04/05/samsung-sdi-94-ah-battery-cell-full-specifications/

Capacity [Wh/kg] = 94Ah x 3.68V / 2.01kg = 173Wh/kg

[5] M8994 E2 module 

(94Ah)http://www.samsungsdi.com/upload/ess_brochure/Samsung%20SDI%20brochure_EN.pdf

[6] E3-M090 module 

(111Ah) http://www.samsungsdi.co.kr/upload/ess_brochure/201803_SamsungSDI%20ESS_EN.pdf

A comparison between M8994 E2 module (94Ah) vs E3-M090 module (111Ah) suggests same dimension of 94Ah and 111Ah.

[7] https://www.udt-global.com/media/libraries/sensors-and-processing/116---Vincenzo-Pennino-Slides.pdf

[8] https://www.scib.jp/download/SCiB_toshiba.pdf

[9] https://www.scib.jp/product/module.htm

[10] https://www.scib.jp/product/cell.htm

[11] https://www.saftbatteries.com/products-solutions/products/seanergy-modules?text=&tech=&market=333&sort=newest&submit=Search&per_page=24

[12] https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/naval-exhibitions/2018/euronaval2018/6606-euronaval-2018-tkms-showcasing-li-ion-battery-prototype-for-ssk.html

[13] https://esut.de/2018/11/meldungen/see/8260/neue-lithium-ionen-batterien-fuer-u-boote/

[14] https://www.liotech.ru/products/akkumulyatory/akkumulyatory-tretego-pokoleniya/

LT-LYP(http://www.enelt.com/?id=530) is also possible cell for submarine, but, its volumetric energy density is lower (93Wh/kg) than LT LFP72 (130Wh/kg).

[15] Hatch diameter range of 650-711mm is based on the followings: i) DSRV’s ( Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle’s) and SRC (Submarine Rescue Chamber’s) can accommodate hatches up to 28 inches (=711mm) in diameter [reference here], page 698, ii) diameter of small hatch of Japanese submarine are 650mm, and iii) Japanese is smaller than Westerner.

[16] http://en.winston-battery.com/index.php/products/power-battery/category/lyp-battery

[17] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_039A_submarine Type 039B Length 77.6m, Beam 8.4m, AIP, crew 36, submerged displacement 3600, double hull structure. 039B (upgraded)

[18] https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/yuan-design.htm

“The battery pack consists of 960 pcs of the WB-LYP10000AHA cells making the total energy of 31MWh.”

[19] From the pictures and perspective of battery section in Kilo-class submarine, size of LAB (D=ca.300mm, W=ca.550mm) and number of battery group (n=8) were estimated. And sizes of LIBs for Kilo, Lada and Amur-class are assumed to be same as LABs.

[20] https://industrial.panasonic.com/jp/products/batteries/secondary-batteries/lithium-ion/prismatic-type/NCA103450

Anonymous