Work Package 1 is focused on the “Integrated Energy System Digital Twin”. This work package will be bringing together the other digital twins in a way that we can maximise the co-ordination across different energy vectors, to answer questions which need a whole system approach.
The energy system is complicated, so to answer big questions like “How much electricity will we need in 2050 to achieve net zero”, it is common to only look at one part in isolation (e.g. just looking at electric vehicles, or heat pumps without thinking about everything else).
The ensign project is unique in the ambitious goals to create a power network digitial twin, focusing on heat, hydrogen, industrial cluster, and power networks. With such a large project and various energy vectors, work package one will ensure the individual energy vectors come together in a co-ordinated way, helping us answer tangible, and relevant questions about great Britain’s future energy networks (e.g. do all of our assumptions align, how do we address industry challenges etc.).
On a more technical level, work package 1 will optimise the inputs to the final digital twin, and design the overall model architecture.
A set of tools and libraries for development and example UCs (use cases) will be determined as outlined below:
UC1: Second & minute-scale operational support: use of multi-vector flexibility and balancing mechanisms in near-real-time operation.
UC2: Day-ahead forecasting and state prediction for decision support and contingency planning.
UC3: Month and years ahead for long-term future system planning, investment and optioneering.
UC4: Extreme events: resilience assessment and critical system risks mitigation under system stress conditions (e.g. extreme weather).
The project will explore use cases for the IES-DT by analysing system characteristics, multi-vector contexts, and scenario-based assumptions regarding technology uptake in heat and transport. It will specify functional requirements for sub-Digital Twins (sub-DTs) and identify necessary measurements, sensors, computing resources, and software for their development in WPs 2-5.
The project aims to design the overall system architecture and user interface for the IES-DT, detailing data flow and software dependencies for integration among sub-DTs. A key milestone at month 12 will establish a common model to facilitate data exchange. The integration of sub-DTs for heat and hydrogen with the electrical networks will allow for accurate representation of interactions between energy vectors.
Techniques for synthesising missing data will be developed to achieve operational observability. Validation of the IES-DT will occur in various physical contexts, ensuring dynamic behaviour aligns with specifications. Following validation, future use cases with commercial potential for SPEN will be explored, such as blackstart and hydrogen utilisation for wind-curtailed energy. The first generation of the IES-DT is expected to be completed by month 21.
