South Korea has developed a lithium-ion battery submarine, claiming to be superior to the Japanese Phoenix Dragon
As the three major powers in Asia, China, Japan, and South Korea have been competing fiercely in many aspects. A few days ago, South Korea claimed that its lithium-ion battery submarine is superior to the former Japanese-made lithium-ion battery submarine 'Huanglong'. According to previous Japanese media reports, the 'Phoenix Dragon' may be exported to the Philippines for military use. Japan’s 'Huanglong' lithium-ion battery submarine 'Huanglong' submarine was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2015. It will officially serve in the Japanese Navy in 2020. The Japanese army will name it-the Phoenix Dragon. The submarine costs six. Ten billion yen is about four billion yuan, and it is the eleventh conventional submarine of the Japanese army so far. 'Phoenix Dragon' is the first time in the world that lithium-ion batteries have been used on submarines to replace the original lead-acid batteries. According to Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the reason for using lithium-ion batteries is that the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries is twice that of lead-acid batteries. With the continuous improvement of technology, this kind of endurance can continue to rise, and the speed can also be greatly improved, which can be described as multi-tasking. Although lithium resources are lacking, it is undeniable that South Korea is ahead of many countries in the world in the manufacture of lithium-ion battery products. The proportion of lithium resources in all countries in the world The South Korean National Defense Acquisition Project Administration (DAPA) next-generation submarine project team hopes that through the successful research and development of lithium-ion batteries, South Korea’s reputation as a submarine processor will be enhanced and a huge chain reaction will emerge in the commercial field. The lithium-ion battery equipped with the lithium-ion battery submarine was developed by Samsung SDI and will be equipped with the second batch of KSS-III submarines. The submarine was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, and Hanwha Land Systems was responsible for integrating battery modules and other components into the submarine. South Korean lithium-ion battery research and development personnel put the safety and reliability of the battery in the first place, and even sacrificed part of the battery performance to meet higher safety requirements. At present, the lithium-ion battery system has passed the simulated harsh environment detection such as explosion, sea water, fire, and extreme temperature. DAPA stated that South Korea’s lithium-ion batteries will be superior to the battery system developed by Japan’s Yuasa Company for the 'Canglong' class submarine. South Korea is preparing to build three KSS-III lithium-ion battery submarines. In September last year, the first lithium-ion battery submarine independently developed and manufactured by South Korea’s Samsung company was completed. The other two are reported to be completed by 2024 and claimed to be able to be put into use by then. Relevant persons also stated that “Korean companies have the best lithium-ion battery technology in the world...” However, some Russian experts are not optimistic about the submarine manufactured by South Korea’s Samsung, and believe that its technical level is not adequate. Although Russia has also produced lithium-ion batteries for submarines, the batteries soon failed and could not be put into use. This shows that Russian experts’ disdain for South Korean lithium-ion battery submarines is also excusable. It is understood that in the submarines used by the navies of the world, traditional lead-acid batteries occupy the mainstream position, but lead-acid batteries cannot be further technologically broken and their performance is insufficient. Lithium-ion batteries, as popular batteries nowadays, are safe and reliable. Some developed countries are seeking Research and development of power systems such as lithium-ion batteries for use in the submarine category. In addition to lithium-ion battery submarines, South Korea is also developing a seawater battery in recent years and is expected to use it for commercialization. It is reported that the Ru0026D team is working to improve the technology of seawater batteries in order to bring them to the market in the future. Relevant sources said that seawater batteries will also be used in militarized unmanned submarines and unmanned surface craft.