Digital twinning: a critical tool for decarbonising transport

The transport sector is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, and transitioning to a greener, more sustainable system is critical for the future.

The UK has set an ambitious goal to achieve decarbonised energy by 2030, yet we find ourselves with only five to seven years left in the global carbon budget. The estimated cost of not decarbonising is significantly greater than the investment required to implement green technologies.

But in this context of rapid decarbonisation, a groundbreaking solution has emerged: digital twinning.

What is digital twinning?

At its core, digital twinning is the process of creating a digital replica of a physical system or object. In the case of transport, this means developing a virtual version of transport infrastructure, vehicles and energy systems.

In a logistics setting, for example, the digital twin can replicate a delivery company’s shipment routes and movements, using real time data captured by sensors. The digital twin then analyses this data and sends back its solution for an improved process to the physical world. This exchange happens almost instantly – in close to real time.

Logistics companies can use this digital twinning data to help them plan how to sustainably move freight in the future. This could include identifying the most sustainable routes, vehicle types, journey times, business models and collaborations.

TransiT – a UK digital twinning hub for transport decarbonisation

We have run out of time to carry out real-world transport trials and learn from them. So we have to do our experiments digitally – and digital twinning provides this solution.

The UK government has recognised this by supporting the creation of a new national research hub that will lead the use of digital twins to help decarbonise transport and logistics across road, rail, air and maritime settings.

Called TransiT, the hub is a collaboration of eight universities and 67 partners jointly led by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. It has secured £20 million in funding from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) – the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK.

Another £26 million in support is being provided by stakeholders across the digital, energy and transport sectors, including transport operators, regulators, vehicle makers, technology companies and energy suppliers.

Through digital twinning technology, TransiT will identify the lowest cost, least risky and most energy-efficient way to decarbonise transport and logistics.

Key to this will be overcoming four primary obstacles: these are risk and uncertainty; siloed thinking across different segments of the transport ecosystem; the challenge of changing human and corporate behaviour – and the difficulty of obtaining and using accessible, reliable data.

Reducing risk and uncertainty

One of the primary barriers to decarbonising transport is the inherent risk and uncertainty involved in such a large-scale transformation. Governments, industries and investors are often hesitant to adopt new technologies or systems without a clear understanding of their potential impacts. This is where digital twinning comes in. By creating detailed virtual models of transportation systems, decision-makers can simulate the outcomes of various decarbonisation strategies – before implementing them in the real world.

These models can account for a range of variables, including energy consumption, traffic patterns and the integration of renewable energy sources. By testing different scenarios in a risk-free digital environment, stakeholders can minimise the uncertainty associated with transitioning to a low-carbon transport system.

Breaking down siloed thinking

Siloed thinking is when different parts of a system or organisation tend to be focused internally and don’t routinely share information or collaborate. In a highly fragmented universe like transport, siloed thinking presents a significant barrier to understanding and decarbonising the whole transport system.

Digital twinning can help break down these silos through virtual experiments that optimise the whole system – instead of one particular organisation’s operations.

Digital twins can create a "system of federation," where different transport modes are seamlessly integrated. This opens the door to optimising the entire transport network, making it more efficient and less carbon intensive. For example, a digital twin could simulate how shifting freight from road to rail could reduce emissions, or how the integration of electric vehicles into the transport ecosystem could be managed more effectively. By addressing the issue of siloed thinking, digital twinning paves the way for a more coordinated and efficient transport and logistics system.

Addressing human and corporate behaviour

Human and corporate behaviour is another significant challenge in the decarbonisation process. People and organisations often resist change, particularly when it involves new technologies or unfamiliar ways of working. Digital twins offer a solution by providing a platform where both human users and artificial intelligence models can learn from one another.

For example, digital twins can be used to train humans – like drivers, managers, engineers, or policymakers – by simulating different decarbonisation strategies and showing how they would work in practice.

At the same time, the models can learn from human behaviour, adapting to real-world conditions and improving their accuracy over time. This feedback loop between humans and digital twins can help overcome resistance to change by demonstrating the benefits of decarbonisation in a tangible, easy-to-understand way.

Generating and standardising data

One of the biggest barriers to decarbonising transport is the lack of accessible, high-quality data. Without accurate data, it’s impossible to make informed decisions or measure progress towards decarbonisation goals.

Digital twinning offers a solution by generating new data through the deployment of secure, standardised “cyber-physical infrastructure.” This is basically a combination of digital and physical systems. For example, our digital twins will collect data in real time from sensors connected to real-world infrastructure – like motorway, railway, shipping or flight monitoring systems.

By creating a common platform for collecting and analysing transport data, digital twins can make this information more accessible and discoverable. This, in turn, allows for better evidenced decision-making, better system optimisation, and a clearer understanding of the impact of different decarbonisation strategies.

How industry can help

TransiT’s success in using digital twinning to decarbonise transport will depend on the participation and collaboration of industry.

Providing accessible data is one of the key ways that industry players can contribute. The more data that’s made available, the more accurate and effective the digital twins will be in optimising transport systems and reducing carbon emissions.

The TransiT Hub will use this data to develop a ‘digital twin factory’ – a central hub for creating and deploying digital twins across the transport sector.

This will enable different stakeholders – from governments to private companies – to participate in the digital twinning of transport.

By engaging with the digital twins and using them to test different decarbonisation strategies, companies can gain valuable insights into how they can reduce their own carbon footprints – while contributing to the wider, vital goal of decarbonising transport.

Published On: 18/11/2024 12:04:07