Complex Systems Engineering: designing in sociotechnical systems for the energy transition

Abstract

The EU has set ambitious targets for an energy transition. While research often focuses on technology, institutions or actors, a transition requires complex coordination and comprehensive analysis and design. We propose a framework accounting for technology, institutions and actors' perspective to design in socio-technical systems. We present its application, firstly, to biodiesel production in Germany; secondly, to vehicle-to-grid contracts in a Car as a Power Plant microgrid. We show how using the framework as the core in modelling can contribute to the performance improvement of these systems. Future work will elaborate on the next generation of thermal energy systems, coordination control of microgrids and implementing flexibility through demand response aggregation. Overall, designing solutions to the problems described calls for comprehensive engineers who look beyond the technical design and deal with multi actor socio-political processes including institutional consideration.

An agent-based exploration of the effect of multi-criteria decisions on complex socio-technical heat transitions

“…In line with our previous work [10,29,31], we use an approach that integrates the perspectives of STS [34][35][36] and CAS [37][38][39]. We describe the problem with the concepts of actors, technology, and institutions.…”

“…In this paper, we continue our line of research from [10,29,31]. In the ABM in [10], households are decision-makers with bounded financial rationality and they determine their preferences via net present value (NPV) calculations using implicit discount rates (IDRs).…”

Systems Engineering for the Energy Transition: Potential Contributions and Limitations

“…It assumes that a broader set of stakeholders is involved in developing and implementing technology and that the social and technical aspects co-evolve. It builds on the notion of a coupled development of technology with social practices, rules, and normative settings [15,17,43]; the distributed agency over a variety of stakeholders and moments, i.e., the capacity to act and influence [44]; and the complexity of the problems, characterized by normative pluralism, inherent uncertainty, and emerging behavior [45][46][47]. As such, a broad set of stakeholders is relevant as are their roles, preferences, practices, and processes of interaction and decision-making.…”

A Comprehensive Engineering Approach to Shaping the Future Energy System

“…Systems Thinking helps us to see the energy system as a whole, constructed by different domains operating on various scale levels in the system, with various time constants, and, most importantly including their interconnectedness and the interrelationships between elements and subsystems (Moncada et al, 2017;Senge, 1990). Only by applying Systems Thinking, i.e., by analysing the whole system, understanding interconnections, considering multiple perspectives and values of actors operating in the social domain, we can realize appropriate institutions and rules of play to support the energy transition.…”