Welcome to the Energy Systems Programme
The main goal of the Energy Systems Programme is to develop new knowledge that enables long-term growth in the direction of sustainable and resource-efficient energy systems. The term “resources” is used in a broad sense, and encompasses not only energy, but also the environment, capital and raw materials. Long-term strategic thinking is vital to guiding the change process in the short term, and knowledge must be applied in harmony with social goals and democratic influences.
Interdisciplinary Research and a Systems Approach
Sweden continues to have a need for a reliable supply of competence in the energy field, even as we move towards an increasingly complex energy supply situation. The energy markets are being deregulated and internationalised. Requirements calling for the environmentally friendly and long-term sustainable management of our resources are intensifying. New alternative energy sources such as biofuel and solar energy are expected to play an ever-increasing role in the systems of the future. Efforts to make industrial, residential, transportation, and public sector energy use more efficient are also being stepped up.
Addressing the dilemmas facing our energy systems will require broad competence. Technical knowledge must be combined with social science insights into the environment in which the technology is being incorporated. This means that energy systems should be viewed as socio-technical systems that will be analysed not only on the basis of technical and financial factors, but also with regard to their social functions.
An interdisciplinary programme
It is against this background that the Energy Systems Programme was created as a national research programme and postgraduate school. The Energy Systems Programme has, since 2001, been funded mainly by the Swedish Energy Agency (STEM), Linköping University, industry, energy companies, and municipalities.
Five research divisions at four colleges and universities are working in cooperation with the programme. Their fundamental goal is to develop a diverse body of knowledge that will promote the creation of sustainable and efficient energy systems.
Energy systems are defined as follows:
Energy systems consist of technical artefacts and processes, as well as actors, organisations and institutions, that are linked together in the conversion, transmission, management, and utilisation of energy. The view of energy as a socio-technical system implies that knowledge, practices and values also need to be taken into account to understand the ongoing operations and processes of change in such systems.
The research conducted within the Energy Systems Programme is organised into consortia, which deal with energy systems based on three different points of emphasis. Each consortium is comprised of postgraduate students and doctoral candidates from at least two different research divisions in order to encourage the interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge. The consortia have the following orientations:
Last updated: 2014-10-08