About the Consultation Forum
Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS) is a European Commission initiative managed by the European Defence Agency addressing, at the European level, common energy considerations in the defence and security sector. Building on the achievements of the previous phases (CF SEDSS phases I, II and III), the European Defence Agency, with the support of the European Commission (Directorate-General for Energy - DG ENER), will continue assisting the European ministries of defence and relevant defence stakeholders to move towards more affordable, greener, sustainable and secure energy models.
The project is co-funded by the European Union’s (EU) LIFE programme and will run until 30 September 2028.
CF SEDSS PHASE IV
Scope
The Consultation Forum – the largest European defence energy network – will continue pursuing in Phase IV the implementation of the EU legal framework on energy and sharing information and best practices on improving energy efficiency and buildings performance, utilising renewable energy sources in the defence sector and increasing the resilience of defence-related critical energy infrastructure. It will also address the cross-cutting thematic areas on energy management and policy, energy innovative technologies and funding or financing instruments for defence energy-related topics.
Through knowledge sharing and roadmaps analysing the EU legal and policy framework, collaborative project ideas and research studies on sustainable energy in defence, Phase IV will seek to consolidate knowledge of the previous project phases and address the emerging energy challenges to support the defence in adapting to the fast-paced changing security environment.
Phase IV will be an opportunity for the Consultation Forum to develop a more practical defence-centric approach through the description and generation of relevant strategies and concepts, guidelines, including action plans and roadmaps to be adopted or applied by the EU MoDs. These will present the defence and security sectors with an economic, operational, and strategic opportunity to reduce reliance on fossil fuel and natural gas, to progressively minimise energy costs and carbon footprint and to enhance their resilience.
Phase IV will provide an opportunity to further explore the benefits that could be enabled in the defence and security sector from the implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), Renewable Energy Directive (RED) , Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) , Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), Regulation on Security of Gas Supply; Regulation of Risk Preparedness in the Electricity Sector, and when relevant, the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action.
Focus and synergies
Exploring new trends such as digitalisation, electrification, innovative battery storage, smart buildings, artificial intelligence, integrated energy management systems and threats to the critical energy infrastructure will support the defence in adapting to the fast-paced changing security environment and recovering quickly when compromised, thus strengthening resilience. Likewise, moving away from fossil fuels will progressively minimize energy costs and carbon footprint and increase the energy autonomy and operational effectiveness of the armed forces.
Collaboration with selected industry, academia and research and technology representatives will enable exchanging ideas and knowledge and facilitating collaborative projects, particularly at CF SEDSS IV energy technology solutions events, offering a two-way exchange venue revolving around sustainable energy products and services presented by the industry.
Background
The Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS) is a European Commission funded initiative managed by the EDA. This Forum was established with the primary scope to create a defence energy-related community to share information, knowledge and best practices on improving energy management, increasing energy efficiency and buildings performance, utilising renewable energy sources in the defence sector and enhancing the resilience of defence-related critical energy infrastructure. To address these objectives, and with the support of the European Commission, EDA has implemented three phases: the first phase took place from October 2015 to October 2017, the second one from October 2017 to August 2019, and the third from October 2019 to September 2024. Building on the successful outcome of these three phases and to address emerging and future challenges in the field of energy, EDA and the European Commission launched on 1 October 2024 the fourth phase, which will run until 30 September 2028. CF SEDSS phase IV is co-funded by the European Union’s (EU) LIFE programme under the grant agreement No. 101191127.
While EDA’s remit does not include enforcing action of EU ministries of defence, it will work to facilitate and enable the development or adoption of the necessary energy-related measures, guidelines or plans. The Agency, with the support of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER) and European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) will provide technical advice and guidance to MoDs and other defence energy-related stakeholders to reach sustainable energy objectives.