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The Canadian Navy Wants To Make Energy Efficient War Vessels

They actually want to cut down on emissions and save on diesel costs.

While the US builds new fleets of drone boats and the Russians invest in new nuclear attack subs—the Canadians are just trying to figure out a way to make energy efficient war vessels that can save them on diesel costs and cut down on toxic emissions.

The Canadian Department of National Defence just issued a tender asking for help from the private sector figuring out how it can create energy efficient, diesel powered engines for its fleet of vessels.

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According to DND they need a, "critical assessment of scientific studies and product literature on technologies designed to increase energy efficiency of marine vessels without modification of diesel engine components."

Related: Canada Is Still Using Shitty Hand-Me-Down British Submarines 

That likely means hybrid engines saving the navy on diesel costs, spreading stocks out beyond the fuel they currently fill up on. Part of the study will also investigate potentially new, "energy technologies on current and future Royal Canadian Navy vessels."

Acting on the advice of Defence Research and Development Canada, the military technology research wing of DND, the government has identified the future of naval war involving vessels with "adaptive autopilot systems" and "alternative energy sources, and real-time monitoring of fuel consumption."

The other big goal for DND is to identify ways to balance upgrades on diesel-powered engines with energy efficiency and cutting down on emissions.

Onboard the HMCS Regina. Raj Teneja/Flickr

"A number of measures exist whereby diesel-powered marine vessels can achieve significant improvements in energy efficiency to help reduce emissions of priority air pollutants and reduce fuel costs," said the tender.

With the environment in mind, the call for help comes on the heels of a Pentagon report singling out climate change as a major national security threat in the coming years, citing it as an "immediate risk" and rushing to change long term military plans accordingly.

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diesel-powered marine vessels can achieve significant improvements in energy efficiency to help reduce emissions

And if you look at DND's disclosure of contracts you'll see usual contractors like Imperial Oil, with other fuel, oil, and gas costs piling into the millions, too. Switching form crude to alternative energy sources is a badly needed strategic change to fall in line with mounting fuel costs and environmental peril.

Besides trying to figure out how to get the most out of their diesel-powered engines while saving the environment, the Canadian navy has also seen its fair share of controversies lately. For one, recent reports say Canadian coffers are so empty that naval power is waning in the Arctic—which is a new theatre of operations for the Canadians as Arctic ice melts and the Russians look to consolidate their own waters nearby.

Saving on diesel might be what the navy is really looking to do, instead of adding mounting costs to a shrinking budget. Especially while hand-me-down British submarines purchased by the Canadians in the nineties continue to drain the Royal Canadian Navy, already on the budgetary ropes.

Either way, whether it's new diesel engines or saving the environment—Canada's navy could use any upgrade it can get.