DCNS: lithium-ion batteries Japan proposes to power the new sub remain unproven and potentially dangerous

Some good reading to add to the topic of the Collins replacement...

Over the top?

Mr Guillou likens that to someone wanting to learn to climb mountains and starting with Mount Everest.

"It's a recipe for disaster and the Americans are aware of it," said Marie-Pierre De Bailliencourt, DCNS deputy chief executive.

Japan is proposing to power its sub with lithium-ion batteries, a promising technology with high energy density and the potential to give the boat much longer range.

The problem is that this type of battery can catch fire. Mr Guillou said a proven safety case for using lithium-ion batteries in submarines was still some years away.

"We know that the technology is the same one used in cars and in cars they explode," Ms De Bailliencourt said.

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