SiENE - The SiEnE representatives proposed a new project to EnECapTech, under the European Defence Agency

The representatives of the Slovenian partnership SiEnE attended the 1st EDA’s Energy and Environment CapTech meeting in February 2022.

The transition of the EnE Working Group (WG) to the EnE CapTech was discussed at the meeting. The transition from WG to CapTech provides more potential to industrial partners and their involvement in collaborative projects.

SiEnE representatives presented a brand-new project proposal (type Category B project) targeting the topic of greening the defence area and smart energy-efficient and energy-independent deployable camps, which is one of the strategic Slovenian projects of international cooperation under the SiEnE partnership.

Representatives of the Slovenian partnership SiEnE, along with participants from 18 EU countries, attended the 1st meeting of the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) EnE CapTech, held from 22^nd to 23^rd of February 2022. The discussion was dedicated to the transition of the Energy and Environment Working Group (EnE WG), established in 2014, to the Energy and Environment Capability Technology Group (EnE CapTech) established at the end of 2021. The attendees reviewed the group’s activities and potential opportunities for cooperation with other CapTech groups and EDA entities, EU bodies and international bodies according to the EnE CapTech’s interest.

The main objectives of CapTech 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.

The Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS) and the newly established Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence (IF CEED) were addressed, the overview of good practices and the presentation of current topics and project proposals was presented.

Col. Robert Šipec (Si MoD), as the official representative of the Slovenian Ministry of Defence (Si MoD) and Matej Gajzer from TECES, as a non-Governmental Expert of the Slovenian Energy and Environment Partnership in Defence (SiEnE) were participating the meeting.

Slovenian representatives presented new international project proposal

Col. Robert Šipec presented the status of the ongoing RESHUB project (Defence RESilience Hub Network in Europe). The project was proposed by Slovenian MoD few years ago and was later supported by the CF SEDSS to become the first international project initiated under the CF SEDSS and later supported by EDA.

The concretization of the international project proposal as well as the financial support of the EDA gave the Slovenian representatives the encouragement to be more proactive in international projects.

Col. Robert Šipec (Si MoD) proposed a brand-new project proposal (type Category B project) targeting the topic of greening the defence area and smart energy-efficient and energy-independent deployable camps, which is one of the strategic Slovenian projects of international cooperation under the SiEnE partnership.

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 sector.