German submarine specialist thyssenkrupp Marine Systems has unveiled the results of a research project that aims to introduce a large underwater vehicle capable of serving as a mothership for a range of systems and payloads.
The focus is on the MUM project (modifiable underwater mothership), which is funded by the German federal ministry for economic affairs and energy.
MUM has been in development since 2017 and is expected to be ready for the market in the upcoming years.
MUM is a modular unmanned underwater system for various applications in the civil maritime industry. Examples include the transport and deployment of payloads, applications in the offshore wind and oil & gas industries as well as the exploration of sea areas with difficult access, such as the Arctic ice regions.
In order to meet these requirements, the company has envisaged a modular structure. The system will use electrical power as the main energy source, by implementing a state-of-the-art, emission-free fuel cell. Where necessary, the power supply system is supported by a Li-ion battery module.
The German government’s coordinator for the maritime industry visited the thyssenkrupp Marine Systems shipyard to experience the progress of the project and the technological innovations already available for further implementation.
“The MUM project fits in very well with our aspiration to technological leadership. The project results show that individual commitment, teamwork, creativity and German engineering skills are an excellent combination for maintaining our technological lead in future markets,” Norbert Brackmann said.
TKMS is developing the MUM in cooperation with ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, EvoLogics, University of Rostock, TU Berlin, Fraunhofer Institute, German Aerospace Center and the Institute for the Protection of Maritime Structures.
