Digital twins can make communities and businesses better equipped for the future

Digital twins have the potential to be the next big step in the development of the digitalised society. A digital twin is a replica of something real. The technology is used to visualise data, make simulations and monitor what is being mirrored. The benefits are clear for municipalities, property owners and companies.

"For us in Värmdö municipality, we see great potential and benefits with a digital twin. Both internal business benefits, through, for example, better knowledge base. But also benefits for our residents where we can make available information about society that residents want, such as the availability of vacancies in commuter car parks in real time. Then we could reduce the search traffic and frustration of looking for free parking spaces," says Jenny Andersson, Head of Department of Strategic Community Planning in Värmdö Municipality.

Better sewerage systems – an example of how digital twins can be used

One area where digital twins will create great benefit in the near future is in wastewater treatment systems where Sweden is at the forefront, but where wastewater treatment plants across the country are facing major challenges with aging infrastructure, stricter treatment requirements and climate change, which leads to a greatly increased need for investment.

"The type of digital twins we are talking about for wastewater treatment plants are process models that are connected in (near) real time to constantly reflect what is happening in the real process. When you combine these models with forecast models for incoming flow and substances in the wastewater, you can plan and account for future events in process control. This means moving from the current reactive control of processes to more proactive decision-making. In addition, scenario simulation allows you to be ready for what would happen in the event of a breakdown or emergency maintenance. Overall, this has the potential to lead to more robust processes, more efficient plants and reduced operating costs," says Christoffer Wärff, a doctoral student in the Digital Twin initiative for sustainable and resource-efficient operation of wastewater treatment plants.

Together with Nordvästra Skånes Vatten och Avlopp, Lund University and Gemit Solutions, RISE is working to realise a digital twin for the Öresund wastewater treatment plant in Helsingborg. The goal is to develop a generic method for implementing digital twins at wastewater treatment plants, including process simulation and real-time data validation. This will then provide a great potential for translating the knowledge to other process industries with a need to purify water.

Within the work, a literature study has recently been published that goes through various important components and methods available for digital twins at treatment plants.

In the digital twins of the future, by creating complex scenarios, we will be able to study how our planning decisions affect everything from human health, energy use and travel habits to how well equipped our environments are in the face of crisis and risks.

Access to data - an important piece of the puzzle

RISE coordinates the national hub for digital twins, where many actors participate with expertise, development and knowledge. RISE's broad knowledge of digitalisation, AI and spatial planning issues is a natural part of the platform.

"In the digital twins of the future, by creating complex scenarios, we will be able to study how our planning decisions affect everything from human health, energy use and travel habits to how well equipped our environments are in the face of crises and risks. So this is an exciting and important project for urban planning in Sweden," says Jenny Carlstedt, Project Manager for Architecture and Spatial Planning at RISE.

An important part of the development of digital twins is access to data, something that is not always easy to coordinate in municipalities and cities, says Anton Gustavsson, Senior Researcher at RISE.

"Digital twins are very much about creating a context, for example when building cities where many different actors need to work together. There are good examples, such as Hammarby Sjöstad, which really succeeded in getting everyone to work together, but often people work in silos when developing neighbourhoods or residential areas. Here, digital twins can help and support the process when different departments in the municipality need to talk to each other, including data managers, investigators and decision-makers. "Digital twins can also produce key figures that are important for municipalities or decision-makers, such as energy consumption in a building or frequency of use of the premises, parking spaces versus living environment, etc." he says.