In June this year during the visit to South Africa by the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa, Air Products South African successfully resupplied a visiting Portuguese submarine with hydrogen and oxygen reactants to power its fuel-cell based propulsion system, along with other gases needed for managing the system.
Air Products SA supplied hydrogen tube trailers to a Portuguese submarine in Cape Town.
During the visit to South Africa by President Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa of Portugal earlier this year, Air Products demonstrated its hydrogen handling and supply expertise with the resupply of a fuel-cell powered Portuguese submarine with all the gases it needed to continue its mission.
Specially develop hydrogen fuel cells are now increasingly used to power the propulsion systems of submarines. These have to operate independently of outside air, so as well as hydrogen, they require a supply of anhydrous oxygen as the principal reactant gases, along with system support gases such as nitrogen and argon.
Planned and executed in conjunction with Air Products in Germany, which generally supplies gases to the Portuguese Navy, Air Products South Africa were able to supply the hydrogen tube trailers, bulk liquid medical oxygen, nitrogen packs and argon gas cylinders through a coordinated effort between the production facility in Gauteng and the Air product’s regional supply facility for the Western Cape.
Watch the full video of supply project:
