Digital Twins – a Revolution in the Energy Sector?

From an expert’s perspective

Emilia Basta, Eco-energy systems engineer

Digital twins represent real objects in virtual reality, enabling control of resources, systems, production processes and making decisions regarding activities in the examined area.

Additionally, in the energy sector, they are responsible for optimizing activities and maintaining the smoothness of activities.

In simple terms , a digital twin is a virtual representation of real activities or processes.

Digital twins in the energy industry

The energy industry involves the conversion of available forms of energy into a form that is easy to use to power all industrial processes, as well as to power machines and devices used in everyday life. So, are digital twins in the energy industry an important pillar?

The energy sector deals with the production and distribution of both electricity and
heat. We can talk here about power plants, heating plants, and combined heat and power plants that convert primary energy into useful energy, which is sent to households and enterprises.

In the energy sector, digital twins are responsible for optimizing activities related to physical resources, but also production processes and maintenance. Yes, they are the basic pillar of project management in the energy sector. Digital twin technologies can reduce company costs and improve maintenance processes and operations.

Thanks to digital twins, in practical applications it is possible to simulate and design new projects, sometimes costly both in terms of economy and
time. Digital prototypes are the basis for making decisions about the profitability of new ideas, their consequences and possible profits.

It is possible, for example, to design a model of a heat and power plant, its equipment, determine the maximum energy production strength and determine the risk of the entire investment. You can also easily simulate the possibility of increasing its efficiency, for example from 70% to 100%, and with all its consequences, including profits and the suggestion of replacing components with those of better quality or efficiency.

Benefits of using digital twins

The cooperation of digital twins in various projects is obvious, but what are the practical benefits of their use in the energy sector? We can talk
about such benefits as: saving time, organizing information, security, accelerating digitization in enterprises , increasing production efficiency, reducing costs, predicting potential faults.

Thanks to digital twins, manufacturing companies are able to analyze ongoing problems and failures, additionally conducting various types of tests and simulations without the need to introduce costly changes to the physical product.

Correlation of digital twins with applications

Many companies are eager to use newer technologies in order to seamlessly update new platforms and make maximum use of existing systems, data sources and sensors.

Creating a digital twin, modeling reality, helps to quickly examine the current working conditions and technical condition of the plant. It is more convenient and faster than traditionally performed inspections by employees and analysis of submitted reports.

The image of the initialized model is created by processing data collected by many sensors. Digital twins can help users organize their information.

Having a single view of reality allows you to make quick decisions about asset maintenance and operations. It is also ensured that safe decisions are made according to the most accurate data available.

Data is placed in a digital version, so the interoperability of digital twins with applications is also important. This is mainly due to the increased introduction of reality modeling into companies, thereby replacing inspection and marketing research bodies, thereby providing digital asset models instead of reports.

Security

Saving data on production processes and other confidential information in a digital version carries the risk of data loss through hacker attacks. It is important to secure data in the cloud while enabling cooperation
with digital twins.

This is possible by using open and direct access when implementing a networked data environment. This type of environment combines engineering, IT and operational technologies. Consequently, this action aims to improve the efficiency, safety and reliability of production resources.

Solutions of this type are offered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform , which can be used to ensure information security and protection. Microsoft Azure has multiple layers of security and is considered by many in the industry to be the most secure platform against malicious attacks.

This ensures that the right people receive the right information at the right time, making their digital twins a safe place to store their data.
In fact, energy organizations are increasingly choosing to store data in the cloud, knowing that it is more secure than storing it in data centers.

Accelerating digitalization

Introducing digital twins into your enterprise is the first step.
However, over time, consideration should be given to improving and accelerating digitalization .

It often happens that very good management systems in a company have data that is inaccessible to people who need it, or is not updated. In such a case, a good solution is to use mobile platforms. This will allow for faster, safe and accessible access to a larger group of authorized persons.

In the case of companies that base their operations on plants, it is recommended to first perform reality modeling . This is done by combining information from sensors located in plants to enable operations and maintenance staff to better understand the context.

This allows digital twins to capture current conditions in the areas under study. You can also add simple workflows to your digital twins to capture changes on-site/in the field, keeping the information fresh and up-to-date, providing a solid foundation for further action.

Such activities may involve the use of artificial intelligence and predictive maintenance to improve processes carried out by maintenance
and operations departments. This would enable digital twins to truly run the operations of the company.

Cooperation of digital twins with renewable energy

The energy sector, and especially renewable energy, is using digital twins more and more often. One such example is the wind industry. Wind turbines , individual or entire farms, are equipped with sensors collecting data on the technical condition of the turbine. This makes it possible to predict possible maintenance, repairs and possible operation on wind farms in advance.

A digital twin gives you the opportunity to collect data and then visualize it. An example would be wind farms managed by GE Renewable Energy. These are over 15,000 turbines subjected to continuous testing for digital capabilities
and advanced analysis.

This allows you to predict the results of all actions taken and interventions in the operation of wind turbines. It is possible to run a simulation to show what would happen if you increased the turbine speed from 100 to 110% when the price of electricity is at its peak. Won’t this burden the system? Is it possible?

The simulation is able to show how durable the wind turbines
and the entire infrastructure that make up the wind farm are. It’s not everything. This technology also allows for the calculation of optimal positions for the operation of a wind farm.

It is also important that thanks to digital twins, you do not have to assume in advance, for example, how the loads will behave for 20 years. You can combine sensory data with design knowledge and engineering experience in one digital model.

This will allow real data to be used to estimate the remaining life of the turbine before it fails. Consequently, unplanned maintenance is transformed into planned activities, thus minimizing turbine downtime
and reducing the number of tower climbs, and the operating time of wind farms is maximized.

Technology in practice

Digital twin technology is already available on the market and widely used. Examples include Chevron Corporation and Tesla. Chevron is an international company in the energy industry that already in 2019 published news about their use of digital twins.

Chevron uses digital twins to help employees discover what’s underground by creating 3D digital models . Thanks to such assistance, work becomes safer.

Tesla uses digital twins to create a faithful digital copy of itself for every car it releases. This process is intended to provide access to software updates based on data from the sensors of individual vehicles.

Thanks to this, data updates are easily and quickly sent to each car, which also monitors the correct operation of the car. The software is tailored to each model, allowing you to make better use of your company’s resources, contributing to improving user experience.

Maserati creates digital twins with Siemens NX CAD programs. They are intended not only to design the overall framework of the car, but also to assist in test simulations. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to use data information for continuous optimization, reducing costs and time needed for development.

To sum up, digital twins are increasingly entering the industrial and production sectors. Thanks to them, it is possible to design products, test technological performance and conduct simulations, which is an important part of the industry, especially in the energy industry. Digital twins allow you to obtain real results and increase the efficiency of individual units.