The Energy Systems Programme started in 1997 as a national research programme and postgraduate school with admissions of PhD student approximately every two years. The last admission was in 2010 and the last of these students graduated in 2017.
The Energy Systems Program was highly successful with high research quality, broad contacts with the community and very good examination. In the program interdisciplinary research and post graduate education was continuously developed in collaboration between PhD students and senior researchers. Research results were made useful through extensive contacts with the community and especially through the PhDs themselves.
The research projects in Energy Systems Programme were carried out in collaboration with actors in the construction sector, with industrial and energy companies and with municipalities and regions. The Energy Systems Programme was funded at the start of 1997 by the Foundation for Strategic Research. The Swedish Energy Agency was the main financier from the admission in 2001 to the last one in 2010. Linköping University financially contributed to the program management function. Other research funders, businesses, municipalities and organizations made important contributions.
Five research divisions at four colleges and universities worked in cooperation within the programme. These were Linköping University, Uppsala University, Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Chalmers University. The fundamental goal was to develop a diverse body of knowledge that promote the creation of sustainable and efficient energy systems.
The research conducted within the Energy Systems Programme was organised into consortia, which deal with energy systems based on three different points of emphasis. The consortia have the following orientations:
- Industrial energy systems
- Local and regional energy systems
- Buildings in energy systems
Each consortium consists of researchers and PhD students from at least two different research divisions to stimulate interdisciplinary exchange.
The Energy Systems Programme also has a continuation, namely the Graduate School in Energy Systems.