U 31 – The Way to the High Seas
Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft      April 7, 2003

    Start of trials for the world‘s most up-to-date, non-nuclear submarine.
    "The Boat is back again" – headlined the New York Times with the news in 1994 that the German Navy would be getting a revolutionary new submarine – the 212 A class. "Conventional" does not really do justice to it – "non-nuclear" would be better. A submarine fitted out with a production-stage air-independent fuel cell propulsion system, which has caught the world’s imagination. A submarine that under normal operations can hardly be detected. This is the German Navy’s submarine of tomorrow.
    The christening at HDW in Kiel on 20 March 2002 was a milestone on the path to commissioning the first „U 31“ submarine in March 2004. Everything began on 6 July 1994 with the building contract for four boats between the German Office for Defense Technologies & Procurement and ARGE U 212 which formed Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG in Kiel as the lead shipyard and Nordseewerke in Emden for building the submarines. The first boat was begun on 1 July 1998 and launched at the end of April 2002. Extensive port and sea trials were then undertaken.
    Actually, trials had started earlier in January 2002. The requirements of the German Navy for air-independence, extremely low electronic codes and highly developed weapon and sensor systems have resulted in a high degree of integration. There is no longer any classic division into platform and payload – the shipyard and supplier system are now a unity. And, as a result, everything is checked to the core.
    Particular attention was, of course, paid to the newly developed components for the boat. It was not just enough to apply theoretical considerations to the very many questions that arose. Thus, for instance, two fully integrated land test facilities – namely the fuel cell testing facility at HDW in Kiel and the Command and Weapon Control System (CWCS) – came up with practically-oriented replies even before the submarine was afloat. Thus both time and money were saved.
    Life began in earnest for the young submarine on 20 April 2002 as it felt water under its keel for the first time and full practical trials began. A start had been made within HDW’s submarine production shop on the integration and startup of the equipment at the beginning of 2002 – something continued at HDW’s own pier. This was the place for the yard to furnish its "Port Operational Certificate". This would show that all the equipment was operating in a proper fashion both individually and interactively. And, of course, the equipment had to meet the tough test specifications.
    U 31 was in the port up to the beginning of 2003 and during this time the initial crew familiarized itself with the boat during a 4-week stint at the HDW Naval Training Center and in the submarine itself. After all, it is the German Navy that provides the crew for the coming sea trials.
7 April 2003: Sea trials begin
    From Kiel, U 31 will be engaged in shallow water trials in the western half of the Baltic Sea beginning on 7 April 2003. The entire marine engineering and operation will be looked into. The fact that, aside from the crew, shipyard and supplier staff along with inspection personnel from the German Office for Defense Technology & Procurement (BWB) are on board will certainly mean cramped working conditions.
    The other half of the trials mainly revolves around deep-water trials. It is expected that U 31 will be leaving home waters for the first time at the end of July 2003, heading for Norway. It will dock at Kristiansand, Stavanger and Bergen for assistance to be given by the Norwegian Navy, with its facilities, to their German comrades. Acoustics, sonar and the fire control system (FüWES) will all be tested during the depth diving trials, preferably in the Skagerak. And the first practice torpedoes are to be fired as well.
    The boat will be returning to Kiel mid-March 2004 after conclusion of all the trials. The submarine will again return to the yard for remaining work and for any defects that have to be put right. Then HDW finally hands over U 31 to the German Navy which will place it into service. From being christened by godmother Bärbel Kaempf with champagne in line with good seafaring tradition on 20 March 2002, a grown-up member of the German Navy has arisen – one representing the world’s most modern, non-nuclear submarine.

Greek Navy Class 209 Submarines to be Equipped with Fuel Cell Propulsion Systems
Seimens     March 19, 2003

    The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) together with Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) of Kiel are to equip three Greek class 209 submarines with a propulsion system that is independent of an outside air supply. The project covers the supply of the PEM fuel-cell modules and the electrical equipment for integration into their existing propulsion system. In addition, an option has been agreed upon for a fourth installation.
    Delivery is scheduled to be between mid-2004 and 2010. Modernization of the roughly 25 years old class 209 submarines is intended to increase their submersed range to that of new ships. Earlier orders placed with Siemens both from Greece and also South Korea included the equipment for modern class 214 submarines. A PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cell system provides the power for the submarines when running submerged and so provides air-independent propulsion (AIP). The AIP system is an HDW development. Siemens is providing the fuel cell modules as well as the control and monitoring systems.
    The equipment to be supplied by Siemens is currently the most advanced type to supply air-independent power for non-nuclear submarines. The company's scope of supply also includes the control cubicles of the fuel cell system (FCS), the control gear to integrate the FCS into the existing propulsion system, and material packages to modernize the existing electrical equipment. Modernization of the submarines will be undertaken by HDW, the FCS being incorporated as a new some seven meter long hull section. A substantial part of the refurbishing and the commissioning will be carried out by HDW's Greek subsidiary, Hellenic Shipyards Co. (HSY) of Skaramanga, Attica.

Air Products to Build Fuel Station for First Hydrogen-powered Sub
by Hang Nguyen - The Morning Call (NJ)    July 9, 2002

    The fueling station will be built for four submarines that Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG, or HDW, is making for the German navy. The submarines are slated to begin service as early as 2003. HDW, a shipyard based in Kiel, Germany, on the Baltic Sea, calls the class 212A submarine ''the most modern non-nuclear submarine in the world.'' It is known as the U-31.
    ...HDW also has orders for four U-31 submarines for the Greek navy, three for the Korean navy and two for the Italian navy. Because of these orders, Air Products has an option with HDW to build more fueling stations. This will be Air Products' 15th hydrogen fueling station. ...The new station will be placed at an unspecified location in Europe in 10 months. The unit also can be moved. The hydrogen at the station is stored in liquid form but is vaporized into its natural gas state as it is pumped into the submarine.

First Fuel-Cell Submarine In the World Is Christened
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW)     Kiel, Germany
March 22, 2002

    The new submarine class 212 developed by HDW is characterised by an air-independent propulsion system using the hydrogen fuel cell. HDW is thus the first shipyard in the world to offer a fuel cell propulsion system ready for series production.
    The fuel cell plant, which produces electrical energy from oxygen and hydrogen, permits the new class of submarines to cruise under water for weeks without surfacing. Conventional diesel-electric submarines have used up their battery power after about two days cruising under water. In addition, the fuel cell makes no noise and produces no giveaway exhaust heat. These factors help to make the submarine virtually undetectable.

First German Submarine with Hybrid Propulsion Plant
Now Being Built
MTU/DaimlerChrysler    February 24, 1999

    The 56-metre Class 212 submarine will have a fuel cell, apart from the MTU engine, battery and propulsion motor, integrated into the propulsion system. Enough energy can be produced with the fuel cell, without surfacing, to power the onboard electrical system when travelling at low speeds. The battery is therefore always at capacity and its energy is used, in contrast to conventional propulsion systems, only for peak speeds upon special demand. The building of the U212 has introduced a new chapter in submarine technology because, with a fuel cell, the submerged periods are notably lengthened. Regarding noise signature, the new propulsion technology offers advantages over conventional systems because of its functional principle. In addition, the low-temperature fuel cell works at an operating temperature of 70 to 80° Celsius and is therefore difficult to detect by external heat sensors.