The Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has signed a contract with Connecticut-based UTC Power, part of United Technologies, for the development phase of a programme to equip the Spanish Navy's S-80 class submarine with a 300 kW fuel cell module for the boat's air-independent propulsion system.

The initial phase, entailing the design of a fuel cell capable of operating on reformed ethanol and pure oxygen, has been completed, and the programme will now move on to the actual hardware development, including the first operational fuel cell. Navantia and the Spanish Navy will subsequently determine whether to order additional units.

'This application represents a whole new market for our fuel cell technology,' said UTC Power president Jan van Dokkum.'It builds upon our heritage in fuel cells for space applications, including for the Apollo and space shuttle spacecraft, by blending our commercially derived proton exchange membrane-type technology with the safety and reliability of the space technology.'

Germany has assumed a lead role in the adoption of fuel cells, having nominated Siemens' polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell plant for its new breed of U212 submarine. Four examples of the class have been commissioned from HDW and Thyssen Nordseewerke into the German navy, and two further such newbuildings are on order.

The U212's propulsion arrangements blend diesel-electric powering with an air-independent propulsion system for silent cruising at low submerged speeds. The fuel cell installation serves the latter, and is equipped with oxygen and hydrogen storage.

Two U212-type submarines have been built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy, while systems have also been developed for domestic yards by the Greek and South Korean navies, evidence of the reliability of fuel cells in underwater propulsion.