South Korean Lithium-ion Batteries for Submarine use Estimates

Following Submarine Matters’ article of November 5, 2019 there is still little published information on South Korea’s (SK’s) lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for submarine use. To partly fill the gap Anonymous has provided likely estimates and links below.

Significant estimates for SK LIB include dimensions of battery modules and total price of the SK LIBs producer SAMSUG SDI battery modules for the DSME 2000 and KSS-III Batch 2 submarines. This is based on the video and other data - see [1] and [2] below.

DSME 2000 and KSS-III Batch 2 submarines will be equipped with the same battery tray, but, the number and total energy of battery trays will be different. 2,200 ton DSME 2000s will have 128 trays producing total energy of 8.6 MWh. While 3,700 ton (submerged)  KSS-III Batch 2s will have 192 trays producing 12.9 MWh).

SK LIBs price per unit power [measured in US$/Wh] is quite low and may be cheaper than lead-acid batteries (LABs). That is a ratio of US$0.3 for a SAMSUNG SDI LIB cell compared to US$0.69 for a Japanese GS-YUASA LAB cell. Meanwhile a Japanese GS-YUASA LIB cell (developed for Japan’s Soryu subs) may cost US$1.61. From the viewpoint of cost, DSME 2000 may be serious export competition to the TKMS Type 214, SAAB A26 and Naval Group Scorpene.

(above and below) LIBs in yellow can be seen on these future DSME 2000 submarine models. (Above courtesy Naval News and Below courtesy IHS Markit/M Boruah )

[1] Assumptions

As the LIBs market for submarines is extremely small, SAMSUM SDI will use existing battery modules and cells of proven reliability.

Use a standard battery trays in future DSME 2000s and KSS-III Batch 2s reduces costs.

Battery trays arrangements in the battery section of DSME 2000s is 8 rows x 8 columns and in the KSS-III Batch 2s it is 12 rows x 8 columns. Such arrangements minimize stray magnetic fields.

Dimensions (W x D x H in mm) of battery trays are from 500 x 300 x 900 to around 600 x 400 x 1200.

A battery tray consists of 8 battery modules. A battery module in turn consists of 12 cells.

The price per submarine of  LABs is around US$137 million and if it were to have LIBs the price currently is around US$780 million (or 85 Billion Japanese Yen). Cost of LIBs is currently very high as they are new, rare and still include high development costs portions in their overall price. Costs would also include extensive computer control for safety. But LIBs have many advantages (longer lasting between recharges, faster and deeper charging by diesel engines, and SK LIBs will have about twice as many cycles (4,000) compared to LABs (2,000). The price of battery trays are more expensive than the sum of their cells.

[2] Possible battery module and cell

A SAMSUNG SDI Battery module used for submarine may be designated M8994 E2. See the specifications and small diagram of the M8994 E2, under the subheading “2016 module” by scrolling about half way down http://www.samsungsdi.com/upload/ess_brochure/Samsung%20SDI%20brochure_EN.pdf 

Note Energy quoted is 8.39kWh, Dimensions 370 x 588 x 160mm, weight <60kg span="">.

Does the SAMSUNG SDI LIBs for submarine use the chemical formula Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) abbreviated NMC? Such a cell is the SAMSUNG 94 Ah. see https://pushevs.com/2017/02/20/details-samsung-sdi-94-ah-battery-cell/ where Energy is 350Wh, Dimensions 173x125x45mm, weight 2kg, price 162.69€,

Scrolling a fifth way down https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/types_of_lithium_ion at “Figure 7: Snapshot of NMC” you will see NMC has a good balance of characteristics, ie: Specific Energy, Specific Power, Safety, Performance, Life span and Cost.

Battery tray. Estimated specification of tray consisted of eight layers of M8994 E2 with dimensions (W x D x H in mm) = 588 x 370 x 1280.

Calculation of energy of KSS-III Batch 2 is 8.39kWh (energy of M8994 E2) x 8 (layers of M8994 E2 in a battery tray) x (12 x 8) (row and column of battery tray) x 2 (battery sections) = 12.88MWh.

DSME, SAMSUNG SDI, GS-YUASA and any other readers are invited to correct, fill-in and thereby expand public knowledge on specifications of LIBs for submarines and comparison with LABs.

China’s Future Forward Base of Tulagi a Threat to Australia.

In August 1942 US Marines (in the Guadalcanal Campaign) fought and died to liberate the strategically important island of Tulagi (in the Solomon Islands) from the Japanese. Now Tulagi, with its dual-use capable natural deep water harbour and airfield has been leased, cheaply, for 75 years to China. See the map below.

Australian politicians appear to have been taken by surprise and have been unable to head off the lease. China is now too politically powerful and can target its increasing cash reserves to buy off islands that are close to, and strategically important to, Australia.

The New York Times, not Australian news outlets, broke the story on October 16, 2019 and advised:

“The renewable 75-year lease was granted to the China Sam Enterprise Group, a conglomerate founded in 1985 as a state-owned enterprise, according to corporate records.

A copy of the “strategic cooperation agreement,” obtained by The New York Times ... reveals both the immediate ambitions of China Sam and the potential...for infrastructure that could share civilian and military uses.

Signed on September 22, 2019 the [lease] agreement includes provisions for a fishery base, an operations center, and “the building or enhancement of the airport.”

Tulagi island (part of the Solomon Islands) in relation to Australia. (Map courtesy Agency France Press via Yahoo News, October 2019)

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The military value of Tulagi includes its potential use as a forward Chinese naval and air base in cutting naval strategic lines of communication between the US and Australia (map above). China can improve Tulagi’s airfied to accommodate maritime patrol aircraft to blockade Australia northern approaches (Tulagi to Port Moresby (New Guinea) and return) and Australia’s eastern approaches (from Tulagi to New Caledonia and return). From Tulagi Chinese strike aircraft could hit the cities of Cairns and Townsville (both on the Australian mainland).

Tulagi as a forward operating base for Chinese surface ships and submarines would save many days of passage to block the major east coast Australian city-ports of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Australia’s leaders have been virtually silent about the strategic possibilities of the Tulagi Lease:

“News of the lease agreement sent Australian diplomats scrambling to find out more details. [Australian] Foreign Minister Marise Payne...had not responded to a request for comment...”.

Perhaps Australia knew about Tulagi-China negotiations in advance. But as Australia could not alter the situation, because of China's power and money, Australia was reduced to feigning surprise.

The possibility that China could develop Tulagi at the rate of its rapid South China Sea island seaport-airport building is a major concern, to say the least. 

Also see an article in The Strategist.

Pete

South Korea Could Export Submarines to Philippines

Nicky commented on November 5, 2019 in response to my South Korean DSME 2000 Concept Submarine, Specifications, Potential Customers article of November 4, 2019. My reply to Nicky just grew and grew. So I am making it into the following comment with links.

I think an assumption that the "Philippines can[not] afford submarines coming from South Korea or Europe" is dated. The Philippines is no longer a poor country reliant on very old second-hand vessels. For example, the Philippines has bought 2 NEW frigates from South Korea.

This is also noting South Korea's DSME Chang Bogos (Type 209 variants) would be far cheaper than future, larger and new battery technology, DSME 2000s.

If you look at this IMF Countries by Nominal  GDP in 2019 List  you'll see the Philippines (at US$347 Billion) is richer than:

-  Egypt (at US$302 Billion) - that has just bought new German Type 209 submarines

-  Chile (at US$294 Billion) that has 2 old German subs but 2 recent French Scorpene subs

-  Pakistan (at US$284 Billion) that has 5 French subs and buying 8 subs from China, and

-  much richer than Portugal (at US$236 Billion) and Greece (at US$214 Billion) that both have
   European subs.

I'd add that South Korea is a more efficient, lower cost submarine builder than Russia. “In 2011, South Korea beat Russia, France, and Germany in competition for a $1.1 billion tender to supply Indonesia with three [Chang Bogo] Type 209-class submarines.” 

Russia's Kilo submarine, approaching 4,000 tons full load, is large for a conventional sub, making it ill suited to the shallows and narrows of the Philippine archipelago. A Kilo is almost 3 times the size of a South Korean DSME Chang Bogo (1,400 tons) and about twice the size of a future DSME 2000 (2,180 tonnes).

Russia generally lacks the money to equal South Korea's soft loan enticements. Also Russia has a notoriously high cost, shoddy work submarine overhaul and weapons upgrade reputation. Just ask the Indians about how unreliable the Russian upgrade for India's Kilos subs was. This upgrade was to fit Klub anti-ship missiles to India's Kilos - with the missiles proving particularly unreliable.

Yes, as I indicated in the November 4, 2019 article, Chile and Argentina are possible buyers for DSME 2000s. Argentina has such old subs that they are unsafe, like the ARA San Juan, that sadly sank.

I don't know whether Columbia needs medium-large subs for their main role - which is anti-drug smuggler surveillance. See my 2015 article where Columbia, in 2015, acquired 2 small 500 ton Type 206s from Germany.

For more on the Philippines see my articles:

-  “Any US Block on Philippines BuyingSubmarines a Big Mistake” of 12 November 2019, and

-  "Submarine Choices for the Philippines" of November 14, 2019.

Pete

Video: DSME 2000 & KSS-III Submarines with Lithium-ion Batteries

Following November 4, 2019's DSME 2000 Concept Submarine, Specifications, Potential Customers below is a MADEX 2019 video (link) with a South Korean engineer commenting on the DSME 2000 and KSS-III. Then a Hanwha Defense representative provides details of the Lithium-ion batteries for submarines that DSME is using and marketing.

-  at 1 minute 10 seconds Xavier Vavasseur (Chief Editor, Naval News) with Jejun Park (Chief
   Engineer, South Korea's DSME) introduce the concept DSME 2000 submarine. At 2,000 tonnes it
   is a size between the DSME 1,400 tonne Chang Bogo (Type 2009 variant) exported to Indonesia
   and the 3,000 tonne KSS-III DSME is building for the South Korean Navy.

   The DSME 2000 will have the latest IT and Lithium-ion Batteries, an AC magnet motor and
   X-plane rudders. As it is a concept design it can be configured with  the foreign customer's choice
   of weapons [and presumably with the option of Fuel Cell AIP?].

-  5 mins 4 secs Jejun Park briefs Xavier about the KSS-III - with a KSS-III Batch 1 being
   launched on September 14, 2018. The KSS-III Batch 2s will have Lithium-ion Batteries which
   will increase fully submerged endurance by several days.

-  5 mins 47 secs display of the Lithium-ion Battery arrangement for the KSS-III Batch 2 (on which
   many DSME 2000 components will be based). Monnhee Kang of Hanwha Defense displays the
   contrast between:
   =   Lead-acid Batteries [eg. used for Australia's current and future subs] only having 2,000 "cycles"
        [a cycle being one semi-submerged, diesel engine battery recharging "snort"]. See reference.
   =   compared to Samsung SDI Lithium-ion Batteries that have twice the service life (that is up to
        4,000 cycles "or about 10 years of operational life").
   =   Monnhee points out a Samsung SDI Lithium-ion battery tray, each with 24 cells. With 100
        modules in the front of a KSS-III Batch 2 and 100 in the back. South Korea has been conducting
        land based tests of whole battery pack for submarine since 2016. South Korean industry reps
        indicated all has gone according to plan.

Pete

DSME 2000 Concept Submarine, Specifications, Potential Customers

Jane's Navy International and Naval News have both provided details of the “DSME 2000” medium sized diesel-electric concept submarine. It was displayed, around October 24, 2019 at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition (MADEX) 2019 in Busan, South Korea.

South Korea's DSME 2000 is a concept (paper) submarine targeted for the export market, particularly to Southeast Asian and South American nations. 

Pete Comment 

Potential customers DSME may particularly be looking at are:
-  the Philippines (becoming relatively wealthy, modernising its fleet, has no submarines but wants to 
   acquire some) 
-  Chile (2 of its 4 subs are old, commissioned in 1984) 
-  Columbia (several very old submarines)
-  Argentina (its 2 active subs very old entering service in 1974 and 1984) 
-  also Mexico (in North America) is relatively wealthy but has no submarines. 

See list of Latin American countries by nominal GDP and GDP per capita - financial indicators on  whether they can afford new submarines. The above potential customer countries might mainly use subs for surveillance against non-state actors (drug, arms and people smugglers, pirates, illegal fishing, separatists and terrorists).

DSME 2000's Indicative Specifications  

Drawn from Jane's Navy International and Naval News.  Preliminary design work was completed by DSME in January 2019, but the final variant can be tailored (with varying specifications) according to customer requirements.

2,180 tonnes (submerged displacement) 
71.1m long
6.5 m beam, diameter 
single-hulled

20 knots (maximum submerged speed)
10 knots (maximum surface speed)

10,000 nautical miles at cruising speed

40 crew + 10 special forces or intelligence linguists/monitors

Lithium-ion batteries
[2+ diesel engines]

AC propulsion motor.
Lengthened version could incorporate an AIP plug

Incorporates a seven-mast configuration The masts suite includes optronic, radar, ESM, SATCOM, Snorkel and up to two communication hoistable masts. The sensor suite is based on Cylindrical Hydrophone Array, Intercept Detection and Ranging Sonar, Own Noise Analysis, Flank Array Sonar, Passive Ranging Sonar, Active Operation Sonar and Towed Array Sonar.

Flexible weapon launching system depending on customer requirements. Standard fitout can be 8 torpedo tubes with a total of 16 torpedoes/missiles/[UUVs] [or typically 32 mines].

Utilizes foreign technologies and local technologies developed for South Korea's KSS-III program. 

DSME’s new diesel-electric attack submarine concept targeted for the export market, DSME 2000. (Courtesy IHS Markit/M Boruah)

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DSME 2000 class submarine scale model at MADEX 2019. Blue "boxes" may depict combat system and propulsion computers/work stations and yellow boxes lithium-ion batteries 
(Courtesy Naval News)

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DSME 2000 design features a flexible weapon launching system. (Courtesy Naval News).

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Pete

Might Naval Group's New AIP be eventually used by India?

Following “Naval Group's 2nd Generation Fuel Cell AIP ready to be marketed"” of October 30, 2019 I deduce that India's DRDO AIP and Naval Group's new AIP are one and the same.

The following is an update of Indian DRDO's progress on land testing a Fuel Cell AIP system (in part to retrofit on India's Naval Group (was DCNS) designed Kalvari class Scorpenes). 

This just happens to be occurring at the same time as land testing of Naval Group's 2nd Generation Fuel Cell "AIP FC-2G" (in part to retrofit on Scorpenes).  Scorpenes have been sold by, what is now  Naval Group, to Chile, Malaysia, Brazil and India.

See Xavier Vavasseur's, Naval News update article of 31 Oct 2019 at https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2019/10/indias-aip-system-gets-boost-with-operation-of-land-based-prototype/

"India’s AIP System Gets Boost With Operation Of Land-Based Prototype"

"India's fuel cell-based Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system has crossed several milestones in technology maturity, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has announced.

The DRDO is an agency of the Government of India, charged with the military’s research and development. India’s AIP system will eventually be fitted aboard all Kalvari-class submarines...

...As previously reported, Naval Group India engineers are already working with the DRDO for the integration of an Indian designed [?] AIP module...."

PETE COMMENT

National and organizational pride and high budget justifications are such that every part of a submarine can be claimed as locally invented/indigenous if at all plausible.

Pete