Centres of Excellence (COEs) are nationally or multi-nationally funded institutions, which offer recognised expertise and experience to the benefit of the Alliance. COEs are supporting the NATO transformation, while avoiding the duplication of assets, resources and capabilities already present within the NATO Command.

The NATO ENSEC COE is composed of military and civilian experts from NATO and Partner Nations. The Steering Committee guides the activities of the Centre through yearly based Programme of Work coordinated with NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT). The largest contribution comes from Lithuania as a Framework Nation filling in the positions of a Director, experts and administrative staff. Sponsoring Nations provide 1-2 representatives and fill positions of Deputy Director, Heads of Divisions and experts.

Created on July 10 and accredited on October 12, 2012, the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (ENSEC COE) currently operates as a widely recognized international military organization with the aim of providing qualified and appropriate expert advice on questions related to operational energy security.

The mission of the ENSEC COE is to assist Strategic Commands, other NATO bodies, nations, partners, and other civil and military bodies by supporting NATO’s capability development process, mission effectiveness, and interoperability in the near, mid and long terms by providing comprehensive and timely subject matter expertise on all aspects of energy security. The mission includes cost effective solutions to support military requirements, energy efficiency in the operational field, and interaction with academia and industry.

Energy Security Centre of Excellence: 

• Provides technical, scientific and academic subject matter expertise in field of energy security that contributes to risk assessment analysis.
• Provides energy security related solutions for the development of environmentally friendly and efficient military capabilities in support of Smart Defence.
• Provides scientific, technical and academic analysis on various aspects of energy supply and critical energy infrastructure protection in areas of concern to NATO.
• Supports NATO Operations through targeted technical scientific assessment, as well as providing advice and solutions for development of energy efficient forces.
• Identifies future needs in NATO transformation activities and seek to prevent or mitigate emergent military threats and challenges, which result from the global scarcity of energy resources and the complexity of the international energy system.