National digital twin for the electricity grid

Today, Sweden lacks national testing resources for the electricity grid, which risks slowing the development of the energy system. The national digital twin will provide an important testing environment that enables faster implementation of innovative solutions supporting increased resilience and utilization of the electricity system.

The digital twin can be used for development and innovation in areas ranging from smart services, electricity markets, and AI-based decision-making processes to complex electrical engineering phenomena such as converter interactions, harmonics, and resonance.

A National Resource

The objective is to establish the digital twin as a system demonstrator, with the long-term ambition of making it a national resource accessible to a broad range of Swedish stakeholders. The project includes, for example:

• Technical implementation
• Data management
• Cybersecurity
• Skills development and capacity building
• Governance and maintenance

Part of Electrified Flexible Industry

The digital twin is a key component of Electrified Flexible Industry (Elflexibel industri), Sweden’s largest initiative in Advanced Digitalization. The initiative promotes systemic transformation and enables a fundamental shift for both Swedish manufacturing and the energy system.

The project brings together stakeholders from across the value chain, including industry, energy companies, electricity grid operators, academia, and innovation environments, and connects production, power consumption, and electricity grids within a single integrated system. All development and learning take place directly in real factories, industrial clusters, and energy facilities, where the project addresses the complexity that characterizes industry on a daily basis.

Together, the participants develop intelligent control systems, increased electricity flexibility, and behavioral changes that strengthen industrial competitiveness while making the energy system more robust and sustainable.