Japan leads way with Li-ion submarines
Japan's first submarine to be powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries will be commissioned in March 2020, doing away with lead-acid batteries and a Stirling air-independent propulsion (AIP) system.
With the arrival of this eleventh Soryu-class submarine the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) will be the world's first navy to field a conventional submarine powered by Li-ion batteries.
VAdm (Retired) Masao Kobayashi, former commander of the JMSDF's Fleet Submarine Force, explained at UDT Asia in Singapore on 18 January that the new type 'will change conventional submarine operations dramatically'.
While Li-ion batteries offered similar endurance to an AIP system
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