SDU center for energy informatics: Background, and current and future research directions

Energy informatics is a relatively young research field which importance and relevance to society have constantly increased since it was first introduced in 2010. The energy informatics research field aims to support the transition towards a sustainable energy system by addressing research questions on how to develop digital solutions that can increase energy efficiency and facilitate the integration of renewable sources into the energy system. The development of digital energy solutions is a challenging undertaking since it is not limited to the traditional boundaries of the energy supply sector but expands across sectorial boundaries to include the energy-consuming processes and related business models of the demand-side. To address this challenge, energy informatics is evolving as a transdisciplinary field that integrates knowledge across academic disciplines with non-academic stakeholders in the different sectors of society. To establish energy informatics as a transdisciplinary field there is a need for creating new academic environments that can support research capacity building in energy informatics. The SDU Center for Energy Informatics was established in 2013 to provide an organisational unit for developing and promoting energy informatics as a transdisciplinary field. Since its beginning, the centre has recruited researchers from academic fields essential to establishing the transdisciplinary nature of energy informatics and building research capacity in the field by educating the next generation of Ph.D. candidates in Energy Informatics. This chapter shares the lessons learned and provides recommendations to others who consider starting a centre for energy informatics.