Cryogenic oxygen storage for the MESMA submarine [ Return towards  References  ]

Air Liquide expertise

© Air Liquide / Photo Patrick Avavian

As the industrial partner of DCNS Propulsion on this programme, Air Liquide has developed the cryogenic oxygen storage unit to supply the MESMA Ethanol combustion chamber and provide air for breathing. Its teams have also performed the qualification tests on the components in a military naval environment and on the cryogenic oxygen, and have supplied and tested the Prototype on Land.
The first MESMA, which is fitted to a submarine of the Pakistan Navy, was tested on the testing ground at the Grenoble site in 2000.
Air Liquide has also developed and provided the ground logistics and technical support to DCNS for starting up the system on the premises of the final customer in 2007.
For the next orders placed by the Pakistan Navy for the DCNS MESMA, Air Liquide has been asked to make the two identical tanks in parallel. Deliveries are scheduled for December 2008 and March 2009.