Task XVIII was established in 2018 with the objective to stimulate the adoption of digitalization technologies for energy efficiency improvement and GHG emissions reduction in the process industries. Initially one Subtask was launched to bring together experts from different countries and to identify and prepare the topics for the subsequent subtasks. The brainstorming and consolidation process lead to the three subtasks, which started in the end of 2020:

  • Subtask 2 on Methods and Applications of Digital Twins,
  • Subtask 3 with the title “Lessons learned and created values by digitalization” and
  • Subtask 4 “Roadmapping the implementation of digitalization in the energy-intensive process industries”.

Subtask 2 is co-lead by TU Wien and VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland. Subtask 2 addresses innovative companies, which are planning or considering to implement a digital twin, technology providers, who have digital twins in their portfolio (or are planning to add them), and research institutions, which are doing research on digital twins in industrial energy systems. As of 2022, Subtask 2 has 22 participants from 8 countries that are collaborating to share knowledge and make progress on digital twins in industrial energy systems.

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In Subtask 2, experts from industry and academia from various countries come together to perform a detailed assessment of digital twins in industrial energy systems. In the first step, we will generate an overview of methods and applications of digital twins. Then, based on the projects, which participants contribute to Subtask 2, we will attempt to quantify the benefits and costs of digital twins. Special attention will be paid to the potential of digital twins to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And in addition to all that, Subtask 2 also serves to establish an international interdisciplinary network of academia and industry.

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IEA IETS Task XVIII – Technology collaboration for a sustainable industry

  1. Birkelbach, F., Fluch, J., Jentsch, R., Kasper, L., Knapp, A., Knöttner, S., Kurz, T., Paczona, D., Schwarzmayr, P., Sharma, E., Tahir, A. J., Tugores, C. R., & Zawodnik, V. (2022). Digital Twins: Terms & Definitions. TU Wien.
  2. Birkelbach, F., Fluch, J., Jentsch, R., Kasper, L., Knapp, A., Knöttner, S., Kurz, T., Paczona, D., Schwarzmayr, P., Sharma, E., & Zawodnik, V. (2022). Existing Digital Twin Solutions: Report on questionnaire. TU Wien.