Existing Digital Twin Solutions: Report on questionnaire

Abstract

In IETS Task XVIII Digitalization, Artificial Intelligence and Related Technologies for Energy Efficiency and GHG Emissions Reduction in Industry we are working on identifying technologies that can be applied in industry to increase the energy efficiency and ultimately reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Subtask 2 of IETS Task XVIII focuses on Methods and Applications of Digital Twins (DT) to promote the application of DTs in industry, in order to improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions. Subtask 2 has the following sub-objectives: - Overview of methods and applications of DTs and their requirements for different industry sectors - Analysis of the potential benefits of these methods, focusing on the impact on energy efficiency and GHG emissions reduction - Creation of an international, interdisciplinary network of research and industry Digital Twins have the potential to improve industrial energy systems considerably. Not surprisingly, there has been quite a hype around digital twins during the last years. Though, successful implementations of digital twins in industry are rare and the actual return-on-investment is hard to estimate. For this reason, many companies are still hesitant to employ digital twins. Within Subtask 2, a questionnaire was designed to collect information on the participant’s digital twin projects. The goal was to gain insight on the current state of digital twins in the participant’s companies, to learn about requirements, expectations, and the solutions they chose. The questionnaire was carried out by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT). The replies were analyzed by a team from AIT, TU Wien, AEE INTEC and Montanuniversität Leoben (MUL).