Digital Twin for modelling future energy needs in the building stock of the city of Gothenburg: a tool for increased stakeholder collaboration, energy efficiency, and coordination of energy issues

Research Project, 2021 – 2023

The purpose of the project is to further develop, test and evaluate a digital platform with an energy and climate module linked to building stock modeling that is integrated into a digital twin. The goal is to be able to support dialogue and collaboration in order to streamline decision-making processes regarding energy supply in the city of Gothenburg and the development of the city's energy plans. With help of the platform, future development scenarios for energy systems can be shown and the consequences of various measures be studied and discussed. The modules also aim to visualize the interaction between different energy systems (supply / delivery, needs) and facilitate coordination of development work and decision-making processes.

The project uses building stock modeling, energy and climate calculations, scenario analyzes, simulations and visualizations in digital twins, and include user tests. The work is based on a building stock model (BSM) with an energy focus that has been developed at Chalmers Architecture and Civil Engineering, an ongoing European project around the construction of a portal for regional energy needs analysis (REDAP) and research carried out in the Vinnova competence center Digital Twin Cities Center. The BSM's energy module is further developed and adapted to be able to describe the current energy situation and simulate different development scenarios. To ensure relevance, Göteborg Energi is involved in the entire process through a number of workshops where energy parameters are formulated together and the analyzes and visualizations are evaluated in dialogue. The context for the project is Göteborg Energi's work with energy plans and implementation of the environmental and climate program 2021–2030.