Digital Twin for Aviation

The aviation sector will have to accelerate the work on reducing emissions to ensure we are able to meet goals defined globally, in the EU and nationally. Aviation may be the hardest-to-abate sector and is a system of systems. A number of value chains, interdependencies and governance structures will impact how quickly we can progress. We see the need to map the aviation ecosystem to create a better understanding for the complexity of the sector to the relevant stakeholders. To facilitate and accelerate the process towards the climate neutral transport of people and goods through the air, we envision an innovation project to develop a digital twin of the future sustainable national air transport system that represents a model of the aviation value network. By providing key stakeholders with an overview of the full aviation eco-system, there should be a better foundation to base further analytical work, discussions and decisions on. Increased understanding should lead to decisions of higher quality. When the basic digital model of aviation has been established, the next phase would be to feed data into the model to be able to simulate e.g. new technologies or new concepts to assess the consequences and effects. The model should include all key high level factors likely to impact the speed and precision of innovation and other changes for greener aviation. It should be considered particularly useful to indicate and/or highlight key challenges as well as possibilities. In contrast to the current state-of-the-art, this model will contain all key elements of the aviation eco-system, such as operations on the airports; flight operations; air traffic management and air navigation services; aircraft, engine, and other aviation industry suppliers; the regulatory development; energy production and logistics; technical services; passengers and end customer behaviour.