Hydrogen and hydrogen technologies play a key role in the greening defence

The 1st international thematic workshop of the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS) on hydrogen and hydrogen technologies was held in Ljubljana, 11-12 October 2022. The purpose of the workshop was to explore opportunities for decarbonising the defence sector using clean hydrogen and fuel cells technologies.

At the workshop with the international participation of 80 experts from EU ministries of defence, EU bodies, industry and academia, a discussion was held on the green transition, which would contribute to the European Green Deal objectives of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.

Solutions within hydrogen and hydrogen technologies in the defence will also be addressed during the two-year "INDY – Energy independent and efficient systems for military camps" project, coordinated by TECES together with international supporting partners.

Hydrogen – an important energy source in the greening defence

Today, hydrogen is at the forefront of the political agenda. It plays a key role in contributing to a sustainable, decarbonised and fully integrated EU energy system and is also crucial to the EU’s strategy to achieve a climate-neutral economy by 2050.

Hydrogen is a source of energy/fuel of the future and a fundamental component of the transformation of energy systems. Its technologies have been recognized by the European Union as a priority tool for achieving the goals of the green transition, e.i. the European Green Deal objectives.

Thematic workshop

Due to the growing importance of hydrogen in defence, a thematic workshop was organized as part of the international Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS), under the auspices of the European Defence Agency (EDA). The workshop host, the Slovenian Ministry of Defence (SI MoD), with the support of TECES and SiEnE partnership, organized the first thematic workshop on hydrogen “Decarbonising defence through hydrogen solutions“, 11-12 October 2022 in Ljubljana. The workshop was dedicated to members of two of the four working groups within the CF SEDSS: Working Group 2 on Renewable Energy Sources (WG-2 RES) and Transversal Working Group (TWG).

The workshop aimed to explore solutions for the green transition in the defence sector, which would contribute to the European Green Deal objectives of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. At the workshop 80 experts from EU defence ministries, EU bodies, industry and academia, searched for opportunities for decarbonising the defence sector by using clean hydrogen and fuel cells technologies.

Additionally, experts learned in more detail the advantages and challenges of hydrogen in the defence by exchanging ideas, knowledge and experiences, thus proposing new project ideas. The latter will be more concretely addressed and further developed at the next 5th CF SEDSS conference, 30 November 30 – 1 December, 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.

The role of SiEnE in hydrogen technologies

During the workshop latest interesting projects’ topics on hydrogen were presented, such as sustainable mobility, the search for alternative fuels in Slovenia, etc. It is worth mentioning the international project “RESHUB – Defence RESilience Hub Network in Europe“, as an example of pan-European integration of members in the defence. The Slovenian Ministry of Defence (SI MoD) proposed the project idea within the first phase of CF SEDSS.  

In addition to smart energy-efficient and self-sufficient dual-use camps, the topics of hydrogen and hydrogen technology are becoming one of the strategic areas of operation within the SiEnE partnership. Together with national and international strategic partners, we are exploring possibilities and solutions for its dual-use. First and foremost, we support the Slovenian Ministry of Defence (SI MoD) and Slovenian partners in their integration into international development projects and supply and value chains.

Representatives of the SiEnE partnership actively participated in the CF SEDSS thematic workshop, also by presenting the international project “INDY, Energy Independent and Efficient Deployable Military Camps”, obtained within the European Defence Fund (EDF-2021). In a two-year project, coordinated by TECES together with supporting international partners, we will also look for appropriate hydrogen and hydrogen technologies solutions for the European defence sector in the green transition.

Figure: Mag. Matej Gajzer (TECES | SiEnE) during his presentation on the international project INDY, coordinated by TECES.

You can read more about CF SEDSS on EDA and SiEnE websites.

Additional information

Contact us for more information about your participation in the SiEnE activities and involvement in international activities, projects, or supply chains.

dr. Kim MEZGA – TECES .:.  +386 2 333 13 54 .:.  SiEnE@teces.si