Can Digital Twins help us towards Net Zero?

Date: Monday 6 February 2023

Time: 12:30-13:30

Can Digital Twins help us towards Net Zero?

PETRAS is delighted to welcome Kevin Reeves (Microsoft UK) and his co-authors, Prof Carsten Maple and Dr Greg Epiphaniou (Warwick University) to discuss their recent paper which focuses on the role of Digital Twins in supporting Net Zero in Critical Infrastructure.

Climate change is arguably the most significant challenge to face our species in living memory. Technology can help accelerate our path to net zero, providing the opportunity to understand and manage complexity to aid better decision-making and help integrate and optimise economic systems at scale, enabling the required pace of change. This will require the integration of data at scale, leveraging digital twin approaches to help manage complexity and uncertainty. Digital Twin (DT) has emerged as a technology approach supporting seamless data flow integration between physical and virtual systems. The National Digital Twin (NDT) ambitions are clearly set out in various UK Government policy papers, highlighting the significance of developing enhanced digital capability in the built environment. This paper explores the role that DTs can play in supporting NetZero in critical national infrastructure (CNI). Specifically, it explores the role of hyperscale data integration in a trusted environment to enable digital twin technology, in a secure, resilient, and traceable manner.

Kevin Reeves is an experienced technologist and senior leader across UK economic infrastructure. As Industry Executive for Energy & Utilities at Microsoft UK, Kevin is responsible for developing the UK industry strategy for energy and utilities, working as part of the leadership team in Manufacturing and Resources. Kevin supports the development of new digitally enabled markets, helping Microsoft continue its transformation from a technology vendor to a trusted partner.

Within industry, Kevin is a digital lead within the Construction Leadership Council’s digital network, supporting the acceleration of digital transformation across the built environment, working across Government, industry and academia.

As an honorary research fellow at Warwick Manufacturing Group, Kevin supports leading research in the field of trusted data sharing, to ensure the UK maintains its position as a globally leading centre of excellence in cybersecurity.

Kevin is an active participant in industry advisory boards and working groups, for leading organisations such as energyUK, techUK, PETRAS, Net Zero Technology Centre, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, University College of London, Cambridge University and various UK Catapults.

If you would like to discuss a particular session or you would like to develop a session of your own, please contact Claire Coulton (c.coulton@ucl.ac.uk)