Research project
Digital Twinning Research Hub for Decarbonising Transport
- Start date: 1 July 2024
- End date: 30 June 2029
- Funder: EPSRC
- Value: £1.5 million
- Partners and collaborators: Academic Heriot-Watt University; University of Glasgow; Cranfield University; Durham University; University of Cambridge; University of Birmingham; University College London Industry Aerospace Technology Institute; AGS Airports Limited; Babcock International Group Plc (UK); Bentley Systems Ltd; Campaign for Better Transport; Costain; DHL; DNV; Dover Harbour Board (DHB); Dynamon Limited; EON Reality Ltd; Flexible Power Systems; National Highways; INCEPT/CILT UK; Intel Corporation Ltd; John Lewis Partnership; Lloyd's Register Group; Marine Capital Limited; Midlands Connect; Mott Macdonald; Newcastle University; Northern Powergrid; nVIDIA; Ocado Group; Ordnance Survey; Pinsent Masons LLP; Queen's University of Belfast; Rail Freight Group; Rail Safety & Standards Board; Rolls-Royce Plc (UK) Scottish & Southern Electricty Networks; Scottish Hydrogen& Fuel Cell Association; SGN; Siemens; Slingshot Simulations Ltd; Stagecoach Group plc; STFC; Tesco; The Scotland 5G Centre; Transport for London; University of Sheffield; University of Strathclyde; Urban Transport Group; Vahanomy; WSP
- External primary investigator: Prof. Phil Greening (Heriot-Watt); Prof. David Flynn (University of Glasgow)
- Co-investigators: Professor Greg Marsden, Professor Kate Pangbourne, Professor Simon Shepherd
- External co-investigators: https://transit.ac.uk/meet-the-team/transit-team/#top
The vision for the TransiT Hub is to harness the transformative power of Digital Twinning, and associated digital technologies, to solve the most pressing problems of our age - the rapid and radical decarbonisation of transport , holistically, across all modes – Road, Rail, Air and Maritime, and at a national scale. The TransiT Hub will create a new interdisciplinary challenge-led national digital twinning capability to deliver scalable solutions of the integration and decarbonisation of transport, providing the thought leadership and coordination it requires. This is an urgent response to the climate emergency that will advance understanding of a complex and adaptive system, reducing uncertainty and risk for time-critical investments into sustainable, ethical and affordable decarbonisation.
The TransiT hub will be centred on expert problem articulation of the challenges, ensuring planners, operators, and policy makers, will use this new capability to deliver national transformation and realise good climate, economic and social outcomes across the stakeholder community, as well as providing a blueprint for other sectors. While past approaches utilised small-scale, real-world trials and progressive scale-up, the need for rapid transition to a low-carbon economy, combined with the increasingly complex interaction between transport modes precludes this approach. This situation is currently holding back private and public investment and risking the UK’s leadership in tackling climate change.
To realise our vision we will co-create 9 Federated Transport Digital Twins across modes and passenger/freight types, culminating in a Federated Transport System of Systems (FTSoS). These FTDTs will use novel capabilities to support the design, development, delivery and operation of a reliable, secure, resilient, inclusive, decarbonised transport system at lowest cost and delivering best value.
The University of Leeds will be exploring how digital twins contribute to tackling the decarbonisation challenge given the dynamic system changes which are currently underway. We will also be exploring the extent to which the governance system is ready for a shift from a largely analogue decision-making framework to one where greater responsibility is handed over to automated processes. Using responsible research principles and techniques such as serious games, we will look to understand the circumstances in which digital twins can deliver on decarbonisation in a fair, transparent and future proofed way.
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