ABSTRACT
Sustainability research must be highly inter- and transdisciplinary in nature in order to cope with the challenges of the subject on the one hand, and with respect to the required transformation processes on the other. This holds in particular for the transformation of large-scale infrastructure such as energy supply, water supply and transportation systems, which are deeply connected to social issues such as regulatory frameworks, economic value chains and the daily routines of users. The transformation of the German energy system in accordance with the proposed Energiewende presents such a case. However, frequently a mere technological view is applied, reducing the challenges ahead to purely technological problems. This chapter criticises this technocratic approach as misleading, since energy infrastructure is a socio-technical system that, in addition to power plants, supply lines, storage systems and so forth consists of a complex set of human actors including users, regulators, decision makers, planners and employees in the supply companies. Because the Energiewende is by its very nature a socio-technical transformation, the transition to a more sustainable energy system can only be achieved through a transdisciplinary process of co-creation and co-construction of knowledge among researchers, decision makers and other groups of actors involved.
