The EXCELLEND project has strengthened the research and testing infrastructures of NCSR Demokritos, which now support industrial collaborations. One of our first such collaborations, established through the NATO DIANA Programme, brings together NCSR Demokritos and the Canadian company SolarSteam Inc. to test and further develop innovative technologies for sustainable heating and cooling production.
The collaboration was formalized through an industrial research project that officially began in July 2026 as a Testing, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation (TEVV) activity. As a designated test center for the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), NCSR Demokritos leverages the TEVV programme to enable innovative technologies to be independently tested and validated in real-world or virtual environments, helping accelerate their development and increase their readiness for commercial and operational deployment.
Within EXCELLEND, members of the team have increased their research capacity to contribute their expertise in digital modelling and energy systems by developing a digital twin of SolarSteam’s solar thermal-driven cooling system for data centers. The digital twin will serve as a virtual representation of the physical system, enabling performance analysis, and the assessment of system behaviour under different climatic and operating conditions. These capabilities will support the design of more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective renewable heating and cooling technologies.
This collaboration demonstrates the commitment of the EXCELLEND team within the NCSR Demokritos ecosystem, to strengthening partnerships with industry and translating cutting-edge research into practical, high-impact solutions. By combining academic expertise with industrial innovation, this collaboration aims to accelerate the deployment of sustainable energy technologies while contributing to the broader goals of decarbonisation, energy security, and climate resilience.
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