SiENE - Slovenian representative from TECES & SiEnE appointed as the Industry Rapporteur of the EDA's Energy and Environment CapTech

The Slovenian representative from TECES, Green Tech Cluster and Slovenian Energy and Environment Partnership in Defence (SiEnE) partnership was appointed as the Industry Rapporteur of the Energy and Environment CapTech (EnE CapTech) under the auspices of the European Defence Agency (EDA). The prominent role was entrusted to Matej Gajzer from TECES, Green Tech Cluster and the SiEnE partnership, who has actively strengthened the strategic cooperation between companies and research technology organisations for many years.

The appointment of a first Slovenian representative to one of the most important civilian positions in the EnE CapTech is also an outstanding recognition of more than 23 representatives of the ministries of defence of participating countries to the active involvement of the Slovenian Ministry of Defence (SiMoD) and TECES/SiEnE in EnE CapTech activities.

The appointment also represents a major challenge and responsibility for the newly appointed Industrial Rapporteur to strengthen the development cooperation of civil partners towards the identification and preparation of proposals for international projects to address the environmental and energy challenges of the defence and security sector.

On 27 June 2023, representatives of the Slovenian Ministry of Defence and TECES attended the 4th meeting of the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Energy and Environment Technology Capability Group (EnE CapTech). The event reviewed the status of activities and projects within the EnE CapTech and the activities planned to strengthen cooperation between the 23 countries involved.

The main objectives of EDA’s CapTechs are to generate collaborative R&T projects, to support the participating Member States in the EDA with much-needed expertise while preparing broader strategic programmes, and to provide networking opportunities for involved experts.

The EnE CapTech addresses energy, environmental and climate change–related challenges and vulnerabilities by identifying technological gaps and proposing collaborative projects. In addition, it promotes the environmental perspective and provides capability-aware and strategically informed advice on energy and environmental factors affecting the Armed Forces of Europe, delivering tangible benefits in accordance with participating Member States and the Climate Change and Defence Roadmap.

Slovenian interests in the EnE CapTech are represented by Col Robert Šipec from Si MoD as the national coordinator representing the interests of the Republic of Slovenia and Matej Gajzer from TECES & SiEnE as a civilian expert.

Introduction of the newly appointed EnE CapTech Industry Rapporteur

Part of the meeting was dedicated to the presentation of Matej Gajzer as the newly appointed EnE CapTech Industry Rapporteur for the two years from June 2023 to June 2025. In his presentation, Matej Gajzer thanked the representatives of the Ministries of Defence and the civilian partners for the confidence they have shown him. At the same time, he emphasised that he is aware of the importance of the coordinated action of civil and defence stakeholders addressing the energy and environmental challenges in the defence and security sector.

More than 25 years of experience as TECES’ cluster manager, with responsibility for more than 100 RDI projects in civil applications, will undoubtedly contribute positively to strengthening the cooperation between representatives of companies, research technology organisations, Ministries of Defence and end-users in developing new solutions supporting the green transition in the defence and security sector.

Presentation of Slovenian experiences and preparation of the first EnE CapTech CatB project

The meeting also presented Slovenian positive experiences in strengthening national and international cooperation between civil and defence stakeholders supporting the green transition in defence. One of the results is also the establishment of the Slovenian Energy and Environment Partnership in Defence (SiEnE) by SiMoD and TECES.

Part of the meeting was also dedicated to reviewing the MoDs support status to the first EnE CapTech’s Cat B project, “Energy positive and zero emission rapidly deployable buildings (E+ZERO)“. The project proposal was developed in the SiEnE partnership with experts from Si MoD and TECES/SiEnE members. The proposal aroused great interest from representatives of several countries and is progressing to the preparation phase of a multinational consortium.

Category B (Cat B) projects are one of the tools within the EDA and are considered key and very useful in promoting cooperation between the Member States, where Ministries of Defence, together with civilian stakeholders (industry, research institutions), prepare and financially support the implementation of international projects of strategic importance for the defence and security sector.

The preparation of the new CatB project E+ZERO is the responsibility of TECES and Si MoD. The identification of key civil development entities in the MS participating countries is currently underway. TECES will soon prepare an invitation to Slovenian partners to express their interest to participate in the project.

In October 2023, after three and a half years of online meetings, the 5th meeting of EnE CapTech representatives is planned in Maribor, Slovenia and will be hosted by TECES and Si MoD under the auspices of the SiEnE partnership.