TECH & AI
How can digital twins be used in sustainability ? A key use case for digital twins in sustainability is increasing efficiency to reduce emissions and waste in various industrial processes .
“ In digital twin sustainability use cases we are typically trying to mitigate climate change by saving energy or managing devices that consume energy to do it when renewable energy is available ,” explains Bill , outlining a series of possibilities for the technology , including :
• Understanding when renewable energy assets should be deployed
• Testing new machine configurations without expending energy and effort in physically trying them out
• Maintaining equipment when it needs to be maintained , rather than wasteful periodic servicing . Cost-wise , predictive maintenance is 8-12 % cheaper than periodic maintenance and 40 % cheaper than reactive maintenance
• Powering down equipment when not needed
In his role as CEO at Industry IoT , Daniel Phillips specialises in the creation and development of ecosystems for knowledge sharing and collaboration .
“ Digital twins play a significant role in promoting sustainability in a variety of ways ,” he says .
“ Some of the key areas I see through the lens of our community here at Industry IoT include supply chain management , where digital twins provide increased transparency and real-time insights through the supply chain network . Predictive maintenance is another one – by creating digital replicas of physical assets like machinery or infrastructure , companies can predict maintenance needs more accurately .
“ In renewable energy integration too , digital twins can simulate the integration of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power for example , and help optimise the deployment of these resources .”
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