About - Excellend
EXCELLEND is a Horizon Europe project launched on 1 February 2025 with a five-year duration. Its mission is to establish a Centre of Excellence at the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (NCSRD) in Greece, dedicated to advancing sustainable energy solutions.
By bringing together the currently dispersed energy-related research activities across NCSRD, EXCELLEND will create an integrated hub that supports the transition to net-zero fossil fuels and climate neutrality by 2050, strengthening scientific excellence and accelerating clean energy innovation.
EXCELLEND is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Programme, Call Topic HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-01-01 – ERA Chairs.
Project coordinator
Dr. George Kosmadakis, Senior Researcher at the Solar & Other Energy Systems Laboratory of the Institute of Nuclear and Radiological Sciences and Technology, Energy and Safety (INRASTES) at NCSRD, coordinates the EXCELLEND project. Dr. George Kosmadakis brings extensive experience in research and innovation aligned with the project’s thematic priorities.
George Kosmadakis
Project Coordinator
Objectives
The project sets six main objectives to actively enhance NCSRD’s research capacity and advance its mission.
- Create a Centre of Excellence in sustainable energy solutions to host the European Research Area - ERA Chair and develop a dedicated research team led by Prof. George Tsatsaronis.
- Upgrade NCSRD’s structures and processes to strengthen research capacity, establish collaborative frameworks, and transform the Innovation Office into a hub for innovative services.
- Enhance the research excellence of the team through targeted training, collaborative work with national and international organisations, educational activities, and the development of synergies with key stakeholders.
- Conduct three focused research activities to expand research priorities, generate new intellectual property, and valuable research results.
- Ensure project sustainability by attracting new funding through research projects and services’ provision, exploiting project outcomes, and reinforcing integration into the European Research Area (ERA).
- Promote knowledge transfer, collaboration, and outreach through comprehensive dissemination and communication activities, support open science practices, and maximise the impact of the project’s key results.
Work Plan
To effectively address all challenges and objectives, the 5-year project is structured under five actions:
Action 1
Create the Centre of Excellence early in the project
Action 2
Implement and monitor structural changes
Action 3
Boost research excellence through training and collaboration
Action 4
Carry out key research tasks and generate results
Action 5
Ensure sustainability by attracting funding and using project outcomes
Vision
Our vision is to become a leading sustainable energy research group in the EU, strengthen the European Research Area, support other Greek research organisations in improving the local research ecosystem, and deliver impactful results that drive growth and expand our team.
