(Credit: Intel)Intel and Dell Technologies, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), and the Cambridge Open Zettascale Lab announced plans to build a digital twin of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) fusion power plant prototype. The digital twin will allow computational resources and artificial intelligence to streamline the delivery of fusion energy to the grid in the 2040s.
The digital twin technology operates within the industrial metaverse, an interactive version of the industrial environment, where modeling and simulations may be used for fusion research. Tools from Intel's oneAPI will provide code portability, which allows source code to work in varying environments, one of the biggest obstacles to creating functional simulations.
Fusion energy has the potential to be a nearly limitless, emissions-free energy source, and making the energy commercially viable would completely transform the energy sector. It has the ability to produce 10 million times more power than chemical reactions used in burning fossil fuels.
With such promise, however, creating a functioning fusion power plant that could provide energy directly to the grid appears far in the future. Using supercomputing and digital twin modeling can help hasten the process.
The announcement of this plan follows similar reports of using digital twin technologies in streamlining operations toward sustainable infrastructure and development.
Spatial business intelligence provider, LlamaZOO, plans to use digital twin technology for mapping industrial operations or geological regions, helping with climate resiliency. The U.K. is also to embark on a digital twin project for lowering emissions in their transit sector.
The STEP prototype now reveals the adoption of advanced modeling technologies in the energy sector as well.
“I firmly believe the future of sustainable energy will rely upon supercomputing,” said Rob Akers, director of Computing Programs at UKAEA. “The world has an urgent need to provide energy security and combat climate change. This is a journey we must embark upon together, delivering access and capability to all those who will be instrumental in delivering commercial fusion energy.”
