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Many non-renewable land-based resources are becoming depleted and the search for alternative sources of raw materials is intensifying. This situation has lead to the involvement of a number of countries, especially those of the European Community, in heavily funded ‘Wealth from the Oceans’ projects. A significant element of the research being conducted under the auspices of these projects is concerned with the development of small unmanned and untethered autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). To carry out their intended autonomous missions these vehicles will need reliable power systems which have high energy densities. However, although research into navigation, control and command systems has progressed considerably under this development effort, only limited headway has been made in the development of power systems which could be readily integrated into these vessels.