Excellent participation, a relaxed and collaborative atmosphere, and a lively discussion on opportunities for civil stakeholders in the defence sector marked the pre-summer gathering of TECES members and partners.

The SYeNERGY members’ event, held on 2 June 2025 at the TECES offices in the heart of BTC City Ljubljana, once again confirmed that TECES is not merely a meeting point for ideas and projects, but above all a space for cooperation, networking, and building trust among key actors of the Slovenian innovation ecosystem.

In addition to numerous members and partners of TECES partnerships – the Slovenian Energy and Environment Partnership in Defence (SiEnE) and the SRIP Smart Buildings and Home including Wood Chain – the event also brought together representatives from Slovenian industry, the research community, and government institutions.

In his role as Chair of the TECES Council, Mag. Matjaž Čemažar, CEO of Domel d.o.o., opened the event with a welcome address.“TECES recognised early on the opportunity presented by the green transition of the defence industry in connection with energy solutions, which are a key competence of the partnership. Over the years, TECES has successfully brought together expertise and partners, becoming a springboard for participation in European defence projects. Today, we aim to strengthen this determination further. Increased defence expenditure can act as an important lever for the development of breakthrough technologies, which should be in the interest of all TECES partners,” he emphasised.

SiEnE Partnership – a model of cooperation recognised as good practice by European partners

As a representative of the SiEnE co-founder, Željko Kralj, MSc, Director-General of the Logistics Directorate at the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, addressed the participants. He highlighted that this year marks five years since the establishment of the SiEnE partnership, established by the Ministry of Defence and TECES as a key platform connecting civil and defence stakeholders.“Together we have proven our ability to achieve outstanding results – Slovenia has for several consecutive years ranked among the most successful countries in European Defence Fund calls. This year, we also secured the €57 million EDF-2024-SENTINEL project, in which TECES plays the leading coordination role. All of this is a result of successful cooperation between industry, research, and the state within SiEnE – a model recognised as a best practice by our colleagues abroad,” said Kralj. He added that the Ministry of Defence encourages national development projects and participation in international consortia to accelerate the transition from development to serial production of products that can be effectively placed on foreign markets.

TECES’s strengthened international role opens doors to cooperation in European defence programmes and projects

Based on the strategic activities of TECES partnerships presented at the pre-Christmas gathering last year, Senior Project Manager Aleksander Majerič outlined what TECES and its members achieved in the first half of the year. In addition to the exceptional success with the SENTINEL project, the involvement of Slovenian experts in international working groups, and the confirmation of the first Cat B project within the EnE CapTech, he emphasised the re-election of TECES Director Mag. Matej Gajzer for a second mandate as Industry Rapporteur in the Energy and Environment CapTech operating under the European Defence Agency (EDA). This role provides Slovenian stakeholders with important influence over the direction of future European defence–energy projects.

A joint TECES and SiMoD approach as the key to industrial solutions for the international market

Colonel Robert Šipec, Head of the Sector for Energy Efficiency and Green Transition at the Ministry of Defence, who leads the coordination of national and international activities in defence-sector energy efficiency and resilience, underlined the importance of the joint TECES-Si MoD approach in integrating Slovenian partners and experts into international value chains. He pointed out that the Ministry of Defence has a unique advantage over other ministries, as through the Slovenian Armed Forces it also brings together end users with extensive domestic and international experience. “We do not want to duplicate projects; we want synergy and the involvement of as many stakeholders as possible to reach critical mass, and ultimately concrete products and their industrialisation,” stressed Šipec. He added that significant progress has been achieved within the SiEnE partnership over the past five years: Slovenian experts have rapidly integrated into international projects, bringing us closer to industrialisation and to products we can proudly present to the world.

Following a lively discussion among event participants, the meeting continued with informal networking over refreshments, during which many new connections were forged and ideas for future TECES partnership projects were conceived.