New Delhi: Indian shipyard Larsen & Toubro and Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia have teamed up for the Navy’s mega but long-delayed Project 75 India (P75I) submarine program to build six next-generation submarines.
The two companies on Monday announced their partnership for the project that will require Indian bidders to tie-up with a foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and schedule for the delivery of six conventional submarines equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP). have to execute.
According to the agreement, Navantia will design the P75I submarines based on its S-80 class submarines, the first of which was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials before its delivery to the Spanish Navy in late 2023. ,
In addition to the S-80 class, Navantia has been involved in the design and construction of the Scorpene class submarines with France’s DCNS (now Naval Group), which have been exported to Chile and Malaysia. Navantia has also been involved in the Scorpene submarines (Kalvari class) built in India, including the maintenance of Indian yards.
A press statement issued by Navantia states that the company’s state-of-the-art third-generation AIP solution is the most advanced and efficient AIP in the world, besides being the most compact, easy to use and maintain, and environment-friendly. , It uses bioethanol as a source of hydrogen, which is known to be cost-effective, easily available and does not require any special infrastructure.
The press statement states that the higher density of hydrogen in ethanol improves the efficiency of the AIP system. Ethanol, being in liquid form, eliminates the risks associated with storing hydrogen. Furthermore, the wide availability of ethanol enables the system to be refueled anywhere in the world.
Besides the Spanish firm, South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems are also in the fray.
The Germans are leading the race for the contract.
(Editing by Sunanda Ranjan)