BAE Systems last week announced a £3.5 million commitment to developing ‘greener’ and safer rechargeable electric propulsion systems; this will include the construction of a new test and integration laboratory at the company’s Broad Oak site in Portsmouth (www.baesystems.com).

The research will build on the advances seen in electric cars and could signal a new generation of propulsion systems for a broad range of defence applications.

Clare Gribby, BAE Systems project manager, said: “Our aim is to develop the next-generation electric propulsion system, which will be cleaner, ‘greener’, safer, more powerful, longer-lasting, rechargeable and — in some cases — even able to operate underwater.

"We’ve already invested around £1 million in concept and design work, and we will be moving towards the build and integration phase of a demonstrator in early 2019.”

BAE Systems is already working closely with a number of small and highly specialised companies in the UK and Europe to develop the project.

It is also drawing on the expertise of BAE Systems in Rochester, which produces electric drive systems for hybrid buses, which are operating in a number of major metropolitan cities around the world, including London, Paris and Hong Kong.

The company announced the news at the start of Euronaval in Paris; this event attracted more than 400 exhibitors from
34 countries.