Overview
- Saft, a TotalEnergies subsidiary, was awarded the contract in July 2026 to provide proprietary lithium‑ion battery systems for Naval Group’s Barracuda nuclear submarines and Scorpene conventional boats.
- The systems use Saft’s in‑house developed cells, which the company says offer higher energy density than lead‑acid batteries and so can lengthen underwater endurance and increase mission flexibility.
- Naval Group and Saft framed the deal as the result of several years of collaboration and as a step toward stronger European defence industrial capability and supply‑chain control.
- Technical details, delivery schedules and independent verification of Saft’s performance and safety claims were not published in the announcements and will be assessed during integration and sea trials.
- If fitted across Scorpene export programmes, the upgrade could change operational profiles for navies in Brazil, India, Chile and Malaysia by reducing recharge needs and freeing space for sensors or payloads.