sustainability

Review
Digital Twins for the Future Power System: An Overview and
a Future Perspective
Zhao Song 1 , Christoph M. Hackl 1, * , Abhinav Anand 2 , Andre Thommessen 1 , Jonas Petzschmann 3 ,
Omar Kamel 2,4 , Robert Braunbehrens 2 , Anton Kaifel 3 , Christian Roos 4 and Stefan Hauptmann 4

1 Laboratory for Mechatronic and Renewable Energy Systems (LMRES), Munich University of Applied
Sciences (HM), 80335 Munich, Germany
2 Wind Energy Institute, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 85748 Garching, Germany
3 Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), 70563 Stuttgart, Germany
4 MesH Engineering GmbH (MesH), 70563 Stuttgart, Germany
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The inevitable transition of the power system toward a sustainable and renewable-energy
centered power system is accompanied by huge versatility and significant challenges. A correspond-
ing shift in operation strategies, embracing more intelligence and digitization, e.g., a Cyber-Physical
System (CPS), is needed to achieve an optimal, reliable and secure operation across all system levels
(components, units, plants, grids) and by the use of big data. Digital twins (DTs) are a promising ap-
proach to realize CPS. In this paper, their applications in power systems are reviewed comprehensively.
The review reveals that there exists a gap between available DT definitions and the requirements
for DTs utilized in future power systems. Therefore, by adapting the current definitions to these
requirements, a generic definition of a “Digital Twin System (DTS)” is introduced which finally allows
proposing a multi-level and arbitrarily extendable “System of Digital Twin Systems (SDTSs)” idea. The
SDTSs can be realized with an open-source framework that serves as a central data and communication
interface between different DTSs which can interact by “Reporting Modules” and are regulated by
“Control Modules” (CMs). Exemplary application scenarios involving multiple system levels are
Citation: Song, Z.; Hackl, C.M.;
discussed to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed SDTS concept.
Anand, A.; Thommessen, A.;
Petzschmann, J.; Kamel, O.;
Keywords: digital twins; power systems; multi-level systems; framework
Braunbehrens, R.; Kaifel, A.; Roos, C.;
Hauptmann, S. Digital Twins for the
Future Power System: An Overview
and a Future Perspective.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259. https:// 1. Introduction
doi.org/10.3390/su15065259 The increasingly problematic challenges due to climate change and the growing energy
demands imply that the current energy system has to transition rapidly. The transition
Academic Editor: Samad
Sepasgozar
must address the urgent need for sustainability while ensuring that social development
is not compromised. Consequently, changes are required on all levels of the system, such
Received: 2 February 2023 as generation, conversion, storage, and consumption. Academia, industry, governments,
Revised: 9 March 2023 and society must pave the way with sustainable innovations, products, policies, and accep-
Accepted: 13 March 2023 tance. In addition to economic feasibility, the key technical challenges are the efficiency and
Published: 16 March 2023
stability of the future decentralized energy system whose backbone will be the electrical
power grid. The following aspects must be considered during its design, implementation,
and operation: (1) more renewable energy resources will be integrated, leading to a dis-
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
tributed and decentralized generation [1]; (2) correspondingly, the fraction of conventional
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. centralized power plants in the power system will keep declining [2]; (3) the installation of
This article is an open access article energy storage systems will provide more flexibility in generation, conversion, and con-
distributed under the terms and sumption [3]; (4) the electrification of more and more prosumers will significantly change
conditions of the Creative Commons the load profiles and challenge power grid capacity and stability [4]; (5) the capability of
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// back-feeding from prosumers to the power grid will and already increases the complexity
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ of the power flow [5,6]; and (6) the electricity markets will drastically evolve according to
4.0/). the changing roles of consumers and prosumers in order to unleash emerging financial

Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065259 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 2 of 29

opportunities [7]. These trends will result in a versatile and dynamic power system in the
future, which requires high intelligence and digitization based on the huge amounts of data
to achieve proper, safe, and secure operation [8]. Emerging technologies such as the Internet
of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Cloud Computing are driving the wave
of Industry 4.0, creating vast opportunities and allowing for a paradigm shift in control
and operational approaches in the energy sector [9,10]. Building upon these technologies,
digital twins (DTs) are gaining momentum as a promising tool for realizing intelligent
power systems. Initiated by aerospace and manufacturing applications, the digital twinning
technology finds its place where integrating services based on observations and predictions
of the real-world system is needed. For example, General Electric is implementing DTs
to monitor and predict asset performance so that operation and maintenance costs can be
lowered [11]. Siemens is also reducing energy consumption by the use of DTs to predict
the battery capacity as frequency containment reserve for transmission operators [12].
Nevertheless, DTs in the power system are not mature and are in their early stages of
development, as most solutions or approaches are only given conceptually; e.g., in [13],
a possible modular design of a DT is proposed to combine multiple applications-specific
models for powers systems; while in [14], the concept of a DT for microgrids is introduced.
Although there already exist a few literature reviews of DTs in power systems, a synthesis,
concerning the structural and operational characteristics of the future power system and
the respective requirements of DTs used in such a power system, is missing [15,16].

1.1. Motivation: Why Should We Apply DTs to the Future Power System?
Due to the increasing penetration of distributed renewable energy resources and ac-
tive prosumers, the future power system must and will undergo a drastic transition in its
operational strategy. On one hand, the uncertainty of the renewable energy availability and
the installation of power electronic converters as grid-tied interfaces will inject not only
stochastic but also deterministic disturbances into the grid [17,18]. Furthermore, due to the
growing drop-out of conventional synchronous generators, the available inertia in the sys-
tem will drastically reduce, which threatens grid stability as intrinsic power reserves vanish.
On the other hand, a significant optimization potential emerges in efficiency and economic
benefit as the distributed power converters allow for increased flexibility, fast dynamic
response, and the optimal (local) management of generation and consumption [19]. The
generation will consist of multiple renewable energy sources and storage systems, whereas
the consumption will accommodate the local and individual needs by, e.g., economic dis-
patch [20] and peak shaving [21]. To tackle the challenges arising from this transition and
embrace the disruptive opportunities, environmental, economical, and functional infor-
mation of the interconnected system and its agents in real time is essential. The concept
of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) has been gaining prominence in the last decade. Its
core idea is to integrate computational and physical components into the virtual world
to implement optimized processes in the real world and to transform and equip energy
systems at all levels with intelligence, reliability, and security [22]. The integration relies
on modern modeling methods and the systematic investigation of the interaction between
physical and cyber system [23]. In this regard, digital twins (DTs), based on models of
the physical systems and equipped with communication and computing technologies,
are a popular and meaningful approach to realizing CPS [24–26]. The ability to capture,
predict, and visualize either virtual or real states for human–system interaction and to
provide services for autonomous operation makes DT a key enabling tool for establishing
cyber-physical power systems.

1.2. Problem Statement: What Are the Challenges of Applying DT to the Future Power System?
Unlike conventional models for a single component or an asset, a DT in the context of a
power system distinguishes itself by diversity in composition and complexity in operation.
Continuous live data are usually required for a proper state observation and/or prediction
of the system. Moreover, due to the heterogeneity and distributed characteristics of the
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 3 of 29

future power system, the data flow between subsystems and the sharing of expertise among
different stakeholders or fields are prerequisites for a seamless holistic system optimiza-
tion [9]. The operation of such a complex system comprises, e.g., the switching of power
electronic devices on the component level, maximum power point tracking on the unit level,
optimal wind park control on the plant level, and frequency and voltage stability on the
grid level. The goal is to enable flexible but stable operation of the overall system and also to
allow for distributed and optimal energy management of the local subsystems. Depending
on operation targets, communication and interaction can be required across component,
unit, plant, and grid (system) levels involving timescales from microseconds to days [27,28].
A holistic framework offering this communication and interaction to orchestrate data flow,
storage, exchange, and analysis and to coordinate all subsystems in a standardized and
generic way allowing for various data sources, protocols, and communication channels
must be developed. Moreover, the capability of (pre-/post-)processing of massive amounts
of data with small latencies must also be addressed while specifying such a framework
architecture [29]. In addition to these requirements, the modular nature of power systems
due to several hundreds to thousands of individual units should be captured by its vir-
tual representation as well. The modular design must not only provide the potential for
“plug-and-play” functionality in physical systems but also minimize the adaption cost for
system extensions by including more and more DTs [13]. Based on modularity, large-scale
power systems are expected to exhibit hierarchical structures, whose real-time control is
usually performed on a multi-level basis [30,31]. It is therefore mandatory that multiple
control layers from the component, unit, plant and system level must be feasible within the
DT framework. In brief, referring to DT design according to the addressed power system
requirements, the following must be investigated and addressed by a holistic framework:
• Availability and integration of live data from physical systems;
• Flexibility in distributed definition and operation of applications and services;
• Generic capabilities for communication and coordination;
• Modularity and extensibility.
However, as the literature review in the following section will reveal, most discussions
on DT technologies limit themselves either to application-oriented models for small-scale
objects or lack generality when implemented in the context of the overall power systems.
A DT solution, which covers all of the above-described requirements for power systems, is
still not available and remains an unanswered research question.

1.3. Proposed Solution and Vision

In this paper, we bring up the idea of a “System of Digital Twin Systems” (SDTS),
which is composed of modular Digital Twin Systems (DTSs) and, based on a holistic
framework architecture, allows for an arbitrary extension to an ultra-large-scale SDTS.
The proposed SDTS and its corresponding framework are generic in design, enabling
services defined and provided by multiple stakeholders. Moreover, the proposed concept
is not limited to power systems, although this is our focus in this paper. The hierarchical
and coordinated structure guarantees that each individual DTS can operate independently
at their own relevant level (such as component, unit, plant, or system level). Meanwhile,
data flow, communication channels, and computation/analysis can be orchestrated among
these DTSs.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews the state of the art of
DTs including common definitions, concepts and implementations, and the underlying
enabling technologies. In Section 3, the definition of a general Digital Twin System (DTS) is
refined and sharpened in order to introduce the key module of the overall concept of the
System of Digital Twin Systems (SDTS). Possible applications considering multiple levels
of the future power system are discussed and illustrated. Finally, Section 4 summarizes
and concludes this paper.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 4 of 29

2. Review
Although it has been almost two decades since the introduction of the term “digital
twin”, its definitions, its characteristics, and its implementations remain very use-case-
dependent. In this paper, we firstly collect and summarize the most fundamental definitions
of DTs in order to highlight commonalities and distinctions. After that, the essential en-
abling technologies behind DTs are introduced to give ideas on how a DT is or can be
realized. In the end, we focus on applications of DTs to the power system, ranging from
basic modeling approaches to complex realizations such as smart energy management
systems. The considered system aspects expand from mechanical and electrical component
to unit, plant, and system levels. Based on the requirements raised in Section 1.2, a compre-
hensive evaluation is given as to whether existing DTs can fulfill the needs of the future
power system and which gaps still do exist.

2.1. Existing Definitions of Digital Twins

Since the term “digital twin” was firstly coined in the year 2002 [32], the idea has
been applied to a wide range of industries under various interpretations. Applications in
manufacturing, aviation, medicine, and the energy industry have led to different conceptual
understandings of what a DT actually is and what it can be used for [33]. Despite the
differences in details, the most common consensus about the DT concept, as shown in
Figure 1, consists of three core elements: A DT is thereby generally defined as a co-existing
Virtual Representation of a Physical Asset and their bidirectional Communication (defined as
“two-way data flow” in [34]). Building upon this essential idea, definitions diverge into
two directions: Either there are narrower definitions focusing on only partial elements
of Figure 1, or there are broader interpretations which cover all necessary application-
dependent subsystems to provide the required DT functionalities.

Figure 1. Core concept of a digital twin: A virtual representation, co-existing along with the physical
asset in combination with bidirectional communication between them.

Some authors regard DTs only specifically related to the considered applications.
In [35–39], a DT is characterized as an ultra-high-fidelity representation of the correspond-
ing physical asset that can be integrated into the software. Data and communication in
these cases are regarded as peripherals of DTs whose functions were provided externally by
the software environment. The models are developed using either a multi-physics-based
approach, a data-driven probabilistic approach, or a combination of both [40,41]. However,
these proposals focus more on modeling structures for system representation. The model-
ing perspective is extended in [42,43], where the data transmission and exchange between
the models and their corresponding physical assets are considered in real time. However,
these formulations still lack the presentation of how such data exchange can contribute to
real-time control operations. It should be noted that if a virtual representation is used only
to represent the physical asset without influencing the real world, such a “one-way data
flow” model is usually called a “Digital Shadow” instead of a DT [44].
Others have broadened the definitions and considered the DT in a more systematic
way. Based on the standard three-elements architecture [45] (recall Figure 1), a more
elaborated view on the DT was proposed in [46] by carving out five essential components:
Real System, Virtual Model, Services, Data and Connections. This definition fuses Data from
the physical–virtual interaction for information capture. It also encapsulates functions of
the DT (e.g., detection, judgment, and prediction) in the Services component for unified
management and on-demand usage. Extending from a single DT, a concept of networks
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 5 of 29

of DTs was proposed in [47], where a superordinate unit named Digital Twin System
was raised to coordinate centralized communication among individual subordinate DTs.
However, the question of how the DTs under different superordinate units communicate
with each other was not discussed. Moreover, the interactions between the virtual and
physical worlds were not described.
Although these existing definitions of the DT concept convey almost fully the basic
underlying essence, a clear demarcation between the essential inherent capabilities of the
DT and those derived externally is lacking. A generic, configurable, and extendable Digital
Twin System (DTS), that fully covers all DT features internally and externally, needs to be
defined. Furthermore, a holistic representation of a complex, hierarchical real system where
several DTS constitute a System of Digital Twin Systems (SDTS) has not yet been discussed.
This can also be seen in [48], where a sustainable energy management system has been
developed to be used in a DT framework for a smart city. Although the authors have
considered the power system holistically, the work did not take into account the explicit
hierarchies in the power system. Additionally, capturing the underlying interactions within
such an SDTS is of paramount importance.
In this paper, we recognize the five-element definition in [46] as the key basis of a
single DTS, which will be sharpened and extended to a multi-level structure in Section 3.

2.2. Enabling Technologies of Digital Twins

The birth and evolution of DT can be rooted back to the development of its enabling
technologies, which support the functionalities of a DT. Requirements on synchronized
measurements, accurate models, real-time communication, and the processing of tremen-
dous amounts of data among services are fulfilled by them. In this section, enabling
technologies are presented in accordance with the following aspects: data acquisition,
modeling, communication, computing, and data analysis.

2.2.1. Data Acquisition

As a bridge between the digital and physical world, measurement and sensing devices
feed the functionalities of a DT with live data. The interfaces for data acquisition need
to be consistent and the used protocols need to provide the necessary transmission rates
such that the DTs stay synchronized; in particular, as different types of applications have
different requirements regarding transmission latency.
SCADA/PMU: The Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system
provides conventionally the data exchange between a control/monitoring unit and the
associated devices. With technology advancements, SCADA systems are able to work
with microprocessors in a wireless way, gathering measurements from remote units or con-
trollers; however, this takes place at a low update rate and lacks a time stamp [49]. Phasor
Measurement Units (PMUs), as a multifunctional signal acquisition system with a much
larger sample rate compared to SCADA, are increasingly utilized in power system control
centers for real-time identification and monitoring, improving condition monitoring and
the fault detection and diagnosis of power systems [50]. Based on the Global Positioning
System (GPS), PMUs can provide locally synchronized phasors of phase voltages and cur-
rents over a wide geographical area, making it advantageous for detecting transient events
in large-scale power systems, especially for stability-related issues, where instant decisions
are crucial to avoid further fault propagation [51]. Although the optimal placement of
PMUs as a compromise between full estimation capability and hardware investment costs
still remains an open research question [52], the combination of SCADA and PMU in DT is
a promising basis for an intelligent and automated control system for power systems [53].
Condition monitoring estimates the state of the asset over a long period of time. The usual
update rate of SCADA systems is in the order of minutes and is sufficient for such slow
tasks [54]. For other DT applications, such as asset optimization algorithms, much lower
latency and much faster computational execution are crucial. Data acquisition should be
implemented through a PMU system.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 6 of 29

In the future, open questions about data availability need to be addressed. Often, data
are proprietary and protected by data security regulations. This limits the available test
cases for digital twin development. Recently, more and more data sets are being published
as open source (e.g., wind farm operational data). This will help to spread and validate DT
implementations [55].

2.2.2. Modeling Technologies

As the essential element of a DT, an accurate virtual representation that is able to
deliver real-time simulation results, or predictions, is the key challenge of the modeling
problem. Although being a classical and developed research topic, how to model com-
plex, large-scale power systems with desired cost and accuracy remains to be addressed,
for which system identification and model reduction are most relevant in adopting the
DT technology.
System identification: To represent the physical system with high accuracy and in real
time, it is required that the models are updated to reflect changes or degradation due, e.g., to
aging. System identification is the process that updates the parameters of the mathematical
description of the dynamical system from measured input–output data [56]. Depending on
the understanding of the system and its specific applications, the applied model present in a
DT can be classified into three types: white box, gray box, and black box, where the a priori
knowledge of the physical system structure decreases but the data reliability increases.
Difficulties can occur at the interactions between submodels, where model assumptions and
simplifications can lead to deteriorated overall model behavior even though the individual
submodels are identified with satisfying accuracy and performance.
Model reduction: As the system complexity grows, the number of model states in-
creases, and the simulation requires more computational effort. Model reduction is a
technology for DTs of large-scale power systems to speed up the simulation while pre-
serving the expected fidelity [57]. The exclusion or simplification of physical processes
or components leads to a reasonable model order reduction if the effect on the consid-
ered system is negligible. Thus, for every model, a trade-off between modeling depth
and simplicity as well as between simulation accuracy and speed has to be found. Well-
established mathematical order reduction methods exist such as balanced truncation and
Krylov subspace methods for linear systems, singular value decomposition and orthogonal
decomposition for nonlinear systems [58]. A reduced-order model of the full system may
lead to significantly larger simulation errors especially under disturbances [59]. To im-
prove the performance, switching to full models from reduced models in a faulty occasion
can be a meaningful solution [60]. In addition, model partitioning before order reduc-
tion is also a way to increase the simulation speed, as already applied in DTs for power
electronic devices [61].

2.2.3. Communication Technologies

To unleash the full potential of the locally measured and acquired data, communication
technologies should enable higher-level or global data access. For instance, this is key
for data-based holistic system modeling and identification technologies. The significant
increase in the amount of data exchanged in DT, either from local to cloud or between
locally neighboring DTs, challenges communication capacity and the speed of conventional
tools [62]. The need for high throughput and reliable communication with low latency
can be regarded as one of the bottlenecks for realizing DT [63]. The demand of realizing
large-scale DT systems without geographical limits and the trend of cloud-platforms lead
to the idea of utilizing wireless communication in DT.
5G/6G: With transmission delay being as slight as milliseconds and bandwidth up to
20 GB/s, the 5G technology standard meets the stringent requirements for DT communica-
tion. The integration of data-intensive applications, such as machine-learning processes,
can be contributed by 5G [64]. On top of this, the 6G network further strengths the commu-
nication ability with peak throughput improved to 1 TB/s, enabling distributed DTs over
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 7 of 29

the cloud and at the edge [65]. Alternatively, the resilience of communication networks
benefit from applying DTs in combination with AI improving monitoring and analyzing
the performance of the network [66].
Offering a high data rate is essential for DT applications, but future communication
technologies should also take the energy consumption footprint into account. For instance,
the widely adopted Passive Optical Network (PON) technology causes a high energy
consumption footprint [67]. In [67], the operation strategy to control the PON infrastructure
is adapted online in order to minimize the energy consumption while meeting the required
transmission and data quality. This is based on a DT-assisted framework to track the PON
performance in real time. Thus, the trend toward the communication of big data comes
along with an intelligent (and possibly DT-based) use of infrastructure.

2.2.4. Computing Technologies

The actual deployment of large-scale DTs requires flexible and distributed hardware,
while in the scope of power systems, the combination of cloud computing and edge
computing matches the need for grid control systems and local distributors.
Cloud computing: Cloud computing offers computing services and resources to
users without sufficient access and availability of their own hardware and software.
The pure provision of resources such as computing power or storage capacities is known
as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) additionally hands over
programming or run-time environments to the user of the service. In contrast to IaaS
and PaaS, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) also provides access to application software and
algorithms. Cloud computing aims at cost reductions through outsourcing and on-demand
use of hardware and software to a centralized system. The cloud computing provider
benefits from high-capacity utilization of the hardware and software.
Edge computing: As introduced in [68,69], edge computing is the paradigm of dis-
tributed computing. Contrary to cloud computing, the computation and data storage
capabilities are brought closer to the end user. This reduces latency in time-critical pro-
cesses as decisions are made close to the physical location of the asset, which suits local
controllers in power systems. Furthermore, bandwidth can be saved by pre-processing
data before sending it to a cloud server. On the downside, having more devices on the edge
of the network raises security concerns as the number of targets increases.

2.2.5. Data Analysis

Closely linked to and driven by cloud/edge computing technologies, data-based
analysis such as Machine Learning stands for one of the intelligent engines for DTs.
Machine learning: Advanced data science techniques are suitable for analytics as well
as model calibration and adaption [52,70,71]. Classification and regression models are
two main areas where supervised learning algorithms are useful. Here, a large amount
of labeled training data is used to analyze a process and learn the underlying physics.
Afterward, the learning accuracy is evaluated over test data. Depending on the accuracy
level, the algorithm is modified or rerun to re-learn and to improve the accuracy [72].
In unsupervised learning, the algorithms attempt to categorize and highlight patterns and
structures within data and thus do not necessarily require labeled data [73]. Deep learning
refers to using neural networks that have more than one hidden layer [72]. These learning
algorithms can be effectively implemented for both black-box and gray-box modeling
approaches [71]. Model accuracy can further be improved by using standard verification,
validation, and accreditation technologies employing static and dynamic methods [74].
In addition to mathematical models for real-world replication, data analysis plays an
important role in realizing DT applications: With data sets either from models or from
measurements, online monitoring strategies can be implemented and allow identifying
abnormal conditions or faults by integrating Machine Learning algorithms [75]. Predictive
operation and maintenance can also be achieved with data-driven forecasting [76]. By per-
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 8 of 29

forming online training with measured data, data-driven models and services inside DTs
can adapt to changes in the real world.

2.3. Digital Twin Applications in the Power System: A Review

Accompanied by the boom in enabling technologies, a significant development of DT
applications has been witnessed in the last few years, spanning from concept descriptions to
practical implementations. In this paper, we consider and categorize DT applications in the
scope of power system applications. An exhaustive spectrum, ranging from low-level issues
such as converter model parameters to high-level coordination, such as power distribution
among microgrids, is considered in the literature. In correspondence to the consistency of
future power systems with high renewable energy penetration, topics spanned across DT
applications in wind energy, solar energy, power electronics as the future interfacing devices,
microgrids, and the overall power grid. Starting with pre-digital twins, the literature review
is arranged and evaluated with respect to the maturity of the DT technologies and their
applicability to future power systems.

2.3.1. Pre-Digital Twins

Although not labeled as DTs, the essential idea of DTs can be glimpsed already from
many technologies before the term was born. In some definitions, this is already considered
as so-called pre-digital twins (pre-DTs) [40]. Comparing to the very primitive concept of
DTs as shown in Figure 1, model-based adaptive control, for example, can be regarded as
one of the embryos of the DT technology since they share the following in common:
1. A model is available, either physics-based or input–output-based—similar to the
digital representation of a DT;
2. Controllers are designed based on the model and interact and affect the physical
system operation—similar to the data flow-based action sent bidirectionally between
the DT and the physical system;
3. Disturbances of the environment and changes of the physical systems are fed back to
the model [77]—similar to the live data flow from the physical system to the DT.
Similar analogies are present for model-based state observers, which allows for re-
ducing the number of measurement devices to design more sophisticated controllers
(e.g., with full state feedback). By its ability to follow and mirror the dynamics of the
physical asset virtually by feeding back measurements [78], observers can be regarded
as another pre-DT. In addition to model-based methods, data-driven analysis, which is
also a hallmark of DTs, has been widely applied to predict operation states and detect
anomalies. Thus, typical functions of DTs, such as condition monitoring and fault detection,
were realized without claiming the concept of DT, and they can be fairly regarded as a
pre-stage of DTs [79–83]. However, although these pre-DTs can realize some applications
that are now considered as DTs, they show limitations in data integration, computing
power and flexibility in providing novel services. Moreover, a pre-DT usually works locally
for small-scale systems with no or only a few communication capabilities.

2.3.2. Digital Twins

Ever since its invention, new applications gathered under the term “digital twins”
keep emerging both in academia and industry. However, the integration degree of DT
technologies varies a lot. To find out whether there is a DT concept already suitable for
the future power system, the review results are categorized and evaluated based on four
questions (Q1)–(Q4). These four questions are raised in line with the requirements raised in
Section 1.2 and cover four perspectives: data integration, application flexibility, framework
implementation, and hierarchical structure. By these four questions and perspectives,
the technological maturity of available DT approaches shall be investigated and compared.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 9 of 29

• Q1: Are live data considered or integrated? Although emphasized in many def-
initions that one of the DT’s key aspects is the existence of a real-world physical
device/asset living alongside the digital replica, we found out that this was ignored
in many implementations. Several researchers actually limit their contributions to
computationally fast models or methods that are identified and validated with histori-
cal data. In [84], the authors proposed a transformer DT model using measurements
from the low-voltage side in order to estimate waveforms of the medium-voltage side
instead of direct measurements. The DT model was validated with historical field data
and was meant to be used for real-time (condition) monitoring. In [85], an analytical
model based on an equivalent circuit was used in order to estimate the behavior of an
induction machine. The analytical model was validated with a finite element model at
steady state, which itself was validated with laboratory measurements. In order to
estimate the states of a power converter, the authors of [86] used a neural network as a
DT model, for which the training data were generated from simulations and the model
was validated both in the time domain as well as in the frequency domain. An esti-
mation method for wind turbine gearbox loads based on a linearized high-fidelity
drivetrain model was proposed in [87]. The method with the purpose of estimating
online fatigue damage was validated by simulations and measurements. Instead of a
single component, Song et al. focused on the state estimation of inverter-dominated
grids [88]. To do so, a neural network was trained with data obtained from traditional
dynamic state equations of inverters and power grids. The model can be used in order
to estimate actual or possible future states in the power grid. A similar approach
of detecting grid anomalies with the help of a neural network was proposed in [75].
However, in contrast to [88], the grid anomalies detection method was presented as a
module of a DT framework which has been proposed by the same authors in an earlier
work [43]. In all of these papers, live data are not acquired online and have no impact
on the virtual models or methods. Further steps to implement them as real-world
applications are needed.
• Q2: Are multiple applications or services possible? In comparison to those contribu-
tions above, some authors include in their discussions the physical systems along with
the virtual models aiming at different applications with integrated live data. In [36],
a fault diagnosis method for photovoltaic systems was proposed based on the compar-
ison between real and virtual measurements. Another fault diagnosis method which is
based on deep transfer learning is proposed in [89], where the continuously measured
data are used to update the DT model, and the simulation data compensates for the
data unavailability problem for some fault conditions. Making effective use of data fu-
sion and interaction between a physical asset and the respective digital representation,
a DT-driven prognostics was applied to wind turbines (WTs) for health management
in [90]. Combining a mechanical model and a set of measurements, ref. [91] estimates
the loads on WT towers for real-time monitoring of fatigue. A dynamic load DT of
power distribution grids which updates its parameters with online measurements
was proposed in [92]. In [61,93], DTs were embedded in the FPGA of power electronic
components for real-time monitoring and diagnostics, where measurements from
physical counterparts are integrated online to generate scenario identification vectors
or diagnostic thresholds (residuals). While in these cases, DTs are designed mainly and
specifically for a certain application, this is neither realistic nor efficient for seamless
and holistic control. In power systems, where multiple optimization tasks across
different stakeholders and subsystems exist, it is desirable—instead of designing a
corresponding DT for each desired application—to allow for generic information
exchange among the stakeholders and to increase system redundancy. Thus, the
flexibility of defining applications within an interconnected DT system despite the
various service formulations is of uttermost importance. Such a collection of multiple
DT applications is currently still and mainly found in the conception stage. In [94],
a generic approach for fault detection and lifetime estimation of large generators based
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 10 of 29

on a multi-domain physical model is presented only theoretically. In [95], possible

applications of DTs in the electric railway power system, such as energy management
and power flow analysis, were discussed (without experimental validation). As shown
in both references, the ability to implement multiple applications has the prerequisite
that interactions among multi-physics models or subsystems are available, and com-
munication channels to ensure the data exchange are available as well. However,
generality is missing.
• Q3: Is there a generic DT framework considered? Multiple applications and arbi-
trary data flow imply that there could exist various digital models or servers within
an interconnected system. This leads to the need for a generic framework or platform
that is able to coordinate this data flow and process sources from several stakeholders.
The role and importance of an encompassing framework are highlighted throughout
the reviewed literature, but the discussions vary in detail and extent. The comprehen-
sive overview study in [33] does not specifically analyze the usage of the underlying
software platform. However, it is mentioned in the outlook that an open software
platform would reduce the cost of DT development significantly. Some researchers
propose theoretical DT frameworks that can map the requirements of particular use
cases to modeling methods. However, the proposed concepts are only roughly de-
scribed or not fully implemented. In [96], a possible DT framework that connects local
energy communities and the electricity grid was designed. The possibility of modeling
of different system levels and the resulting different timescales were briefly discussed.
A concept that uses distributed networks to spread out computing and data among
multiple agents was described in [97], aiming at alleviating the burden of a single
master station in a large power distribution system. In [43], the so-called Automatic
Network Guardian for Electrical systems (ANGEL) DT framework was introduced. It
allows for real-time microgrid data visualization and detection of three-phase faults
in a 39-bus benchmark configuration. Other authors include a detailed description
of their software implementation but without claiming generality. In [25], a new
data processing and computation architecture was proposed, supporting both fast
data-driven security assessment and the conventional model-driven online analysis of
power grids. Ref. [98] provided a detailed description of the necessary interfaces and
communication protocols for a control architecture applied in distribution systems;
all aspects are considered for a specific software platform only. To collect and fuse
data streams from all connected assets, ref. [99] defines semantic objects and analysis
algorithms based on the “semantic neighborhood relation”, which is applied to a
concrete use case in wind farms. Some contributions focus specifically on possible
software architectures and guidelines in the design of DTs but without validation
by practical implementations [39,100]. Although differing in their implementation
methodology, most of the proposed frameworks share the idea of cloud-based data
centers using IoT standards under the CPS environment [24]. While in [101], the data
management, modeling and simulation module are incorporated together on one
platform, ref. [29] propose a data-centric middleware-based platform that consists
of distributed heterogeneous DTs in a standardized way, which is more suitable for
applications in large-scale power systems. Due to its autonomy, fault-tolerance and
consistency, ref. [102] brought the multi-agent system idea to the DT system structure
for control and management in power substations, where data are shared among
agents on a central database. Finally, ref. [103] specifies a generic software solution
that implements the data structures as “things”, which is a concept also followed in
this study.
• Q4: Is there a hierarchical DT structure considered? A key question that comes along
with the introduction of a DT framework is whether the framework itself is expandable
and scalable to a hierarchical structure, as how it is expected to be necessary for
power systems. With the increasing need of realizing coordinated applications or
services across all system levels of the future power systems, a hierarchical structure
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 11 of 29

or organization of DTs is crucial, but this is usually not considered, and therefore, it is
limited to very few cases in energy management. The first challenge to be faced is the
modeling, since multi-physical domains with dynamics at different timescales are to be
considered [95]. Another challenge is the interconnection among subsystems, where
large latency and bad synchronization can deteriorate operation and performance.
An IoT-based multi-agent CPS for energy systems, which combines low- and high-
bandwidth physical models was introduced in [103], showing the potential of sharing
power among interconnected microgrids to support the voltage at the point of common
coupling (PCC) in a sequential control algorithm. However, the DT is not scalable
and not independently operational, since all virtual models are bundled and run
on one cloud service. A distributed implementation is missing. Similar to this,
a DT for a national distribution feeder was proposed in [98] to optimize the reactive
power set-points for multiple energy resources and to improve PCC voltage stability.
To do so, state estimators based on data from multiple grid buses are utilized to
reconstruct higher-level system states, but both levels discussed (plant and grid level)
have the same timescales (seconds). In addition to optimized operation management,
a real-time system reliability pre-assessment tool for the integration of distributed
energy resources was proposed in [104] and covers both low and high system levels.
The dilemma between the precision and physical limitations of large-scale systems
was also addressed. In [48], an additional coordination layer was applied for several
independent and modular subsystems to achieve optimal energy management under
higher-level constraints. However, the results are again restricted to similar timescales.
All these examples showed the trend of considering multi-level DT structures for
the future power system, where multiple generation and consumption units are
involved and a coordinated optimization must be performed. However, none of
these contributions gave an explicit definition of a hierarchical DT structure that
demonstrates modularity, scalability, extendability, and the interaction across all
system levels with all timescales.
To conclude, despite the increasing interest in and works on DTs, most of them
are application-specific and are solely implemented in this regard. Table 1 collects and
summarizes the results of the literature review and categorizes them with respect to the four
evaluation questions (Q1)–(Q4). Different DT applications are categorized based on their
majurity level ranging from simple DT models mostly with “one-way data flow” (known
as “Digital Shadows”) over more specific services or even conceptual DT architectures and
complete frameworks.

Table 1. Literature review results according to the stated requirements of DTs for the future power
system (3, 7 and m indicate that requirements were “met”, “not met” and “partially met”, respectively).

Reference Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Remarks
Static transformer model for online monitoring of the
[84] 7 7 7 7 medium-voltage side from measurements at the
low-voltage side (one-way data flow; Digital Shadow).
Analytical model of induction machine with static
[85] 7 7 7 7 parametrization identified from finite element analysis
(one-way data flow; Digital Shadow).
Converter models based on dynamic neural networks,
[86] 7 7 7 7 trained offline with data sets from simulations (one-way
data flow; Digital Shadow).
Static model for continuous estimation of wind turbine
[87] 7 7 7 7 gearbox loads with online measurements (one-way data
flow; Digital Shadow).
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 12 of 29

Table 1. Cont.

Reference Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Remarks
Conceptual prognostics and health management based
[90] 3 7 7 7 on the DT model, suggested action carried out both on
virtual and physical assets (Digital Twin).
Inverter models based on neutral networks for grid state
estimation, trained with simulation data from analytical
[88] 7 7 7 7
models and fixed control algorithm (one-way data flow;
Digital Shadow).
Detection of grid faults using neural networks trained
with deep learning, data sets acquired from offline
[75] 7 7 m 7
simulations, real-time critical due to small timescales
(one-way data flow; Digital Shadow).
Real-time fault diagnosis for PV panels based on error
residuals between DT simulations and measurements,
[36] 3 7 7 7
implemented on FPGA with pre-defined fault signatures
(Digital Twin).
Adaptive DT model based on Kalman filter to estimate
[91] 3 7 7 7 loads on a wind turbine, accuracy depends on
measurements and model (Digital Twin).
Statistic and dynamic grid load models online identified
[92] 3 7 7 7
with Bayesian inference (Digital Twin).
Real-time model implemented on FPGA for monitoring
and fault diagnosis of power electronics transformers,
[93] 3 7 7 7
algorithms based on pre-defined error thresholds
(Digital Twin).
Real-time and probabilistic model of converters
implemented on FPGA, models partitioned to reduce
[61] 3 7 7 m
computational load (rudimentary Pre-Digital
Twin System).
Concept of a multi-domain physical simulation platform
with multi-level control algorithms for large generators,
[94] 3 3 7 m
centralized DT implementation (rudimentary
Pre-System of Digital Twin Systems).
Conceptual modeling structure of electric railway power
[95] 3 3 7 7 systems with communication between submodels,
multiple applications possible (Pre-Digital Twin System).
DT platform/framework for local energy communities,
[96] 3 3 m 3 applications run in different timescales but defined
centrally (Pre-System of Digital Twin Systems).
Conceptual DT architecture using distributed networks
to alleviate the pressure of master station, specified for
[97] 3 3 m 7
smart power distribution (rudimentary Pre-System of
Digital Twin Systems).
Conceptual DT framework for cyber defense with
real-time and physics-based models, specified for
[43] 3 3 m 7
microgrids (rudimentary Pre-System of Digital
Twin Systems).
Event-driven DT framework for online analysis of
[25] 3 3 m m distributed data grid, specified for power grids
(Pre-System of Digital Twin Systems).
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 13 of 29

Table 1. Cont.

Reference Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Remarks
DT framework for optimized voltage regulation with
state estimation among multiple distributed energy
[98] 3 3 m 3
resources, no generic implementation (Pre-System of
Digital Twin Systems).
Conceptual cloud-based DT framework for wind farm
[99] 3 7 m 7 monitoring, data transported in the form of semantic
objects (one-way data flow; Digital Shadow).
Generic DT architecture describing the interactions
[39] 7 7 3 7 within the CPS, limited to single-DT cases (Pre-System of
Digital Twin Systems).
Generic DT architecture based on the 5-dimensional DT,
coordination among multiple DTs, modularity not
[100] 3 3 3 m
shown (rudimentary Pre-System of Digital
Twin Systems).
Cloud computing-based DT platform specified for
distributed and centralized integrated energy systems,
[101] 3 3 m m
modules are implemented centrally (rudimentary
Pre-System of Digital Twin Systems).
Multi-agent construction of power substation DTs,
agents are defined within a single DT as different
[102] 3 3 3 m
executors, no communication among DTs (Pre-System of
Digital Twin Systems).
DT-based procedure for assessing the impact of
integrating renewable energy, both locally and globally
[103] 3 3 m 3
by centralized DT implementations (Digital
Twin System).
An IoT-based DT of connected microgrid systems with
communication between “things” and “things” in the
[104] 3 3 7 3
cloud, distributed controllers but centralized DT models
and services (Pre-System of Digital Twin Systems).
DT framework for optimal energy management across
multiple energy sectors, cross-level services possible,
[48] 3 3 m 3
services and models implemented centrally in cloud
(Pre-System of Digital Twin Systems).
Generic DT framework for modular extension across
This paper 3 3 3 3 multiple levels, distributed and coordinated services
possible (System of Digital Twin Systems).

The main outcome of the review is that a generalized hierarchical structure of a

holistic DT system, with arbitrary interconnections between all modular components on
all system levels in one framework allowing for distributed implementation, has not yet
been proposed and introduced. The vision of such a holistic “Digital Twin System (DTS)”
and, more important, a generic “System of Digital Twin Systems (SDTS)” is the main
contribution of this work. Figure 2 illustrates the conceptual framework of this paper: from
review to vision. The upper block in Figure 2 illustrates the idea of the “Review”: After
tracking the evolution of enabling technologies and various DT definitions and evaluating
the DT applications, we found out that there is a need to extend the DT definition based
on the available five-element structure to fulfill the needs and requirements imposed
by the future power grid for the implementation of digital twins. This extension, its
realization, and its potential applications are depicted in the lower part of Figure 2 in
the “Vision” block. The individual blocks and sub-blocks in Figure 2 are linked with
each other to illustrate (i) how DT applications rely on (enabling) technologies, (ii) how
various DT definitions lead to the extended DT definitions and (iii) how the proposed SDTS
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 14 of 29

concept emerged and should work: The framework is based on the enabling technologies
(data acquisition, modeling, data analysis, computing, communication). It coordinates the
data flow and exchange between the individual DTSs and allows a central or distributed
data storage. By that, it enables the interoperability across different system levels and
with external stakeholders (e.g., electricity markets). The interconnected DTSs provide
services and cooperate with each other to achieve a holistic power system optimization
taking economical aspects, efficiency, reliability and security into account.

Figure 2. The conceptual framework of this paper: From review to vision.

3. Vision
As mentioned in Section 2.1, prior research has presented diverse definitions for DTs.
However, a generic definition that can not only demonstrate the functionality and working
principle of a single DT but also the co-working structure and interactions for multiple DTs
is lacking. This gap is closed with our proposed definition. The definition is presented in
two steps. Firstly, the existing definition of a DTS from [90] is refined and sharpened for a
single-level structure. Afterwards, the single-level definition is generalized and extended
modularly to the multi-level structure to introduce the concept of “System of Digital Twin
Systems (SDTS)”. A framework that covers the need of the defined SDTS will be introduced
as well. In the end, three possible application scenarios of the SDTS for the future power
system based on the proposed framework will be discussed.

3.1. Digital Twin System: Definition & Concept

For this paper, we propose the following definition (as illustrated also in Figure 3).

Definition 1 (Digital Twin System (DTS)). A digital twin system consists of a digital twin
and its corresponding physical asset. The digital twin digitally runs alongside the physical asset.
The digital twin is structured into three interconnected parts: Virtual Model, Data and Services.
The physical asset and the parts of the digital twin are interconnected via Connections. The digital
twin system can adapt and reconfigure itself to mirror the actual state of the physical asset during its
life cycle and offers services to improve/extend the performance and capabilities of the physical asset.
These functionalities can be availed using the reporting modules (RM) and the control modules
(CM) of the digital twin.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 15 of 29

Figure 3 shows the single-level representation of the proposed DTS. Uni- or bidirec-
tional connections are represented by uni- or bidirectional gray arrows. Extending the
proposal from [90], the service dimension is additionally split into two categories, i.e., the
intrinsic and the extrinsic services. Intrinsic services are indispensable for the configuration
of the DT that support the basic operation of a DT. In contrast, extrinsic services are optional
services that provide further in-depth knowledge of the DT and its interconnected dimen-
sions and/or the physical asset. Extrinsic services can be defined and modified according
to the application scenarios of the DT.

Figure 3. Digital Twin System (DTS) that consists of the digital twin and its corresponding physical
asset. The green box represents the boundary for the digital twin, which consists of a virtual model
of its physical counterpart, data (storage), and services.

The following bullet points describe the five pillars of a DTS in detail:
1. Physical Asset is the physical counterpart of a DT. In the proposed formulation, a physi-
cal asset also includes the corresponding standard control and the SCADA/FPGA/DSP
system which can provide an interface for connections to the DT. The physical asset
can be a component (e.g., IGBT-module, drivetrain), a generation unit (e.g., wind
turbine) as well as a power plant (e.g., wind farm), or even the grid itself. FPGA/DSP
systems are more frequently applied on the component level, whereas SCADA (or in
combination with PMUs) is applied on the system level. By sending (real) measure-
ments to the DT and receiving automated actions (commands) from DT services, the DT
influences the physical asset operation via the control module (CM) that is contained
in the control system. In essence, a CM could run on the cloud or could be part of
the local (sub)system, either on a separate hardware or integrated in the existing
SCADA/FPGA/DSP system. Moreover, CMs can have dedicated buses or utilize the
same data bus as the associated control system. The physical asset together with its
corresponding control interface system is illustrated as Reality in Figure 3.
2. Virtual Model is a physics- and/or data-based model of the physical counterpart
which usually runs digitally alongside the physical asset and generates virtual mea-
surements. These virtual measurements can either be representations of current states
or their predictions. The potentials of, e.g., reducing sensors, detecting irregularities
or faults, and optimization can be unfolded based on such virtual measurements. The
virtual model receives virtual actions from the running services that determine which
and how the model should be applied and adapted.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 16 of 29

3. Data represent the stored version of (real) measurements from the physical asset and
virtual measurements from the virtual model. The data can represent actual and/or
historical measurements or predictions of events yet to come. Furthermore, data are
exchanged with the services through the data management.
4. Services provide the functionalities that add benefits and intelligence to the whole
DTS. Services are divided into intrinsic and extrinsic services.
• Intrinsic services are essential elements of the architecture of DTs and ensure
realizations of functionalities of DTs. They include data coordination between
different dimensions of the DT, providing calibration and adaptation of the
virtual models to improve the reflection of the actual state of the physical asset
and to ensure synchronization between different system clocks. The behavior
of DTs can also be interfaced with an external system using reporting modules
(RM). Such information can be used for the performance evaluation of DTs,
long-term analysis, or to provide input to a separate application running on an
external system.
• Extrinsic services establish additional functionalities that DTs can provide to
the physical asset. For example, extrinsic services such as condition monitoring
enable the user to take strategic decisions (e.g., predictive maintenance). Another
example can be an advanced control task such as the coordination of generation
units at the plant level for a more economic dispatch. Multiple and different
extrinsic services can be added (and removed) to the overall service portfolio
according to the demands of the stakeholders. They are therefore an add-on, not
critical for establishing or running a DT and, therefore, are placed outside the
boundary of the DT in Figure 3.
5. Connections stand for communication channels that are established and maintained
between physical assets, data, virtual models and services. As shown in Figure 3,
the connections are the embodiment of interactions between the DT elements and
allow for data exchange of (i) real and virtual measurements, (ii) automated and
virtual actions, and (iii) data management commands from services to the data center.
They enable the exchange and synchronization of information.

3.2. System of Digital Twin Systems: Definition & Concept

As Figure 3 only shows a representation of a DTS for a single physical asset, it is not
sufficient to capture the interconnected and cascaded nature of the power system today and
in the future. For this purpose, we propose a generic System of Digital Twin Systems (SDTS)
as well as a possible software framework. The proposed SDTS is illustrated in Figure 4. In a
similar manner as a power system, it consists of different physical assets and associated
DTs on four system levels (please note that the power system architecture is used here
as an example to explain the idea of the proposed SDTS; the idea itself is generic to all
multi-level systems) which are Component, Unit, Plant and Grid (System) Level. On the one
hand, horizontal physical and virtual interconnections between different subsystems at a
particular system level are crucial. On the other hand, vertical interconnections with different
timescales of the subsystems capture hierarchical dependencies, where functionalities of the
upper-level system depend on lower-level system states, and the operation of lower-level
systems should follow higher-level constraints. As a result, a horizontally and vertically
interconnected SDTS is established, with single DTSs as the basic modules. This idea is
summarized in the following definition.

Definition 2 (System of Digital Twin Systems (SDTS)). A system of digital twin systems
consists of horizontally and vertically interconnected digital twin systems on all system levels such
as component, unit, plant, and grid (system) level.

The building block of the SDTS is the already introduced DTS corresponding to a
single physical asset including the asset itself, the virtual model, data, services and internal
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 17 of 29

connections, as shown in Figure 3. The physical asset interacts with the external world
through SCADA systems or FPGAs/DSPs, depending on its vertical level. The bidirectional
connections and resulting interactions between the physical asset and a SCADA system
block represent the flow of control and data acquisition commands between both of them.
The horizontal bidirectional interconnection between the block “Reality” (blue box)
and the corresponding block “Digital Twin” (green box) in Figure 4 represents the flow of
real measurements from the physical asset to the digital twin, and the automated control
action commands from the digital twin to the physical asset. The vertical interconnection
between two subsequent levels on the “Reality” side connects lower and higher-level
physical assets and highlights the possible bidirectional information exchange (blue tube).
On the “Digital Twin” side, the vertical interconnection (green tube) represents the (possibly
bidirectional) information exchange between the corresponding DTs on different system
levels. Moreover, on each system level (as shown for the “Unit Level” as transparent
blocks), the different DTs of one component, unit, or plant can also be interconnected to the
DTs of one or more components, units or plants.

Figure 4. Visualization of a System of Digital Twin Systems (SDTS). The horizontal and vertical
interconnections between different levels (Grid, Plant, Unit, Component) and entities (”Reality”
shown in blue and ”Digital Twin” shown in green). On each level (as shown for the unit level as
transparent blocks), the different DTs can also be interconnected.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 18 of 29

A physical asset at the upper level (e.g., a wind farm) is usually composed of multiple,
lower-level physical assets (e.g., wind turbines). These are therefore represented by multi-
ple, stacked “Reality” blocks. This cascaded nature runs from the topmost level (the grid
level in our case) down to the smallest considered physical asset level (the component level
in our case).
On the “Reality” side, the SCADA system of the physical asset at the higher level can
gather status/data from the physical assets it is composed of and issues operational control
commands to them. These two exchanges are explicitly highlighted in the snapshot of
the interconnecting bus represented using two arrows in the blue tube. Similarly, on the
“Digital Twin” side, the possible communication between the digital twins from two levels
has been shown using arrows inside the green tube:
• The virtual model at a higher level could be composed of virtual models from the DTs
at lower levels, either directly or possibly with reduced-order modeling. This requires
model information flow between the hierarchies.
• The collected data can be sent to the higher level when needed; this could refer to the
operational history data, time series of measurements, or current system constraints
that could help in coordinating decisions made by the higher level services, etc.
• The lower level obtains the coordination commands from a higher level, which will
be processed in the services block, and in the end, sent to CM implemented in the
SCADA or DSP/FPGA systems.
In addition to the information flow through horizontal and vertical interconnections,
DTs at a particular level are also capable of communicating with each other directly, irre-
spective of whether they belong to the same upper-level asset or not. This communication is
indicated by the connection between the transparent blocks at the unit level as an example.
Such a distributed communication feature can help to reduce latencies and offers additional
possibilities for applications that require swift information exchange between the entities.
Since the whole system is built upon each individual DTS, the extension to the SDTS can be
realized in a modular way without significant adaptation work.

3.3. System of Digital Twin Systems: Framework and Implementation

To realize the SDTS as described in the previous section, a generic software framework
for the creation and implementation of DTs and their orchestration is proposed. As shown in
Figure 4, the central pillar of such a system architecture is to enable seamless data handling
between multiple clients, where the “client” can either be understood as a physical asset,
a virtual model, a service or the local data set that requires data exchange. Concerning
this characteristic and the requirements raised for the future power system, the following
functionalities should be fulfilled by the framework:
• Data exchange: Data exchange between a DT and its corresponding physical asset
is necessary. In addition, communication between different parts of the DTs, i.e., the
virtual models, services and data storage is useful. Data exchange between different
DTSs should also be enabled. These requirements lead to the demand for a central
communication hub.
• Data persistence: A client may require the data of other clients that are updated in
different timescales, even when the clients themselves are not connected to the central
communication hub. Therefore, at least, the last updated status of all clients must be
stored persistently and accessible for other clients. In addition, for certain applications,
time-series data need to be provided.
• Data compatibility: Due to the very different types of devices connected to the frame-
work, abstract access options to the data, independent of the hardware itself, are
necessary. The integration of already existing systems into the network should be
possible with as little effort as possible.
• Cloud-based access: As the physical asset and its digital twin are not necessarily
located at the same location, cloud-based access to the data is necessary as well.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 19 of 29

• Data authorization: Since the software platform is running for multiple stakehold-
ers, authorized access to specific data is necessary. In addition, the possibility of
implementing different types of access, e.g., write or read-only access, is required.
• Data aggregation: The construction of higher-level virtual models and services in-
volving cross-level coordination might require the aggregation of data from differ-
ent sources.
Thus, the essential idea of the framework is a cloud-based platform, whose funda-
mental task is to provide a database for DTs and their physical assets that are connected
to it and plays the role of a central communication hub. As a starting point to meet these
intended functionalities, the open-source software Eclipse Ditto is considered, which is
already used for IoT projects to manage classical DTs [105]. Eclipse Ditto, in the current
version 3.0.0, provides standardized Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) on a
database via multiple protocols such as HTTP, WebSocket, AMQP 0.9.1, AMQP 1.0, Kafka
2.x, MQTT 3.1.1, and MQTT 5. These protocols are commonly used in the IoT. Ditto fea-
tures a database that stores data in nested key-value structures called Things. Things are
generic entities and are mostly used as a “handle” for features defined under it. Things
can contain data on the current states of connected assets, either physically or virtually
measured. Things can also carry automated commands, e.g., setting reference points given
by services. Communications are made in the framework by defining, writing, and reading
Things that are accessible to dedicated users/clients. Subscribed clients are informed about
changes made to data stored in the Things. Interaction between the connected clients is
also possible by exchanging messages, which are distributed to all Things. For models in
digital space, suitable libraries for connection via the given protocols are already available
in common programming languages such as Python, MATLAB, or Java, or they can be
easily implemented. Depending on the service needed, the communication can happen
periodically or by event-based triggers.
In addition to the integrated functionalities of Eclipse Ditto, there are more features
necessary to meet the requirement of the software platform, which are not provided by
Eclipse Ditto itself. Nevertheless, it is to be noted that the described SDTS can be integrated
into the network as easily as possible. While Eclipse Ditto provides the connections for DTs,
data from physical assets should also be available in the framework. Such a connection
can, for example, be implemented with the Eclipse Kura software, which is an open-source
IoT Edge Framework. Eclipse Kura offers API access to the hardware interfaces of IoT
Gateways (serial ports, GPS, watchdog, GPIOs, I2C, etc.) or field protocols (including
Modbus, OPC-UA, S7), which are commonly used in state-of-the-art SCADA systems. In
addition to these connections, to exchange virtual dynamic models across different software
platforms and enable co-simulations among stakeholders, a standard called functional
mock-up interface (FMI) has been described by the Modelica Association. To allow for an
easy exchange of dynamical models for digital twins, an interface between Eclipse Ditto
and FMI-based models has to be developed.
Based on the above discussions, the overall structure of the software platform is shown
in Figure 5, where a single DTS is connected to it as an example showing the interactions,
communication, and data flow. The platform provides several intrinsic services:
• The history service allows the connected clients to store data on cloud computing
and access it with the native Ditto functionalities. In addition to the application
within RMs, such processing of time historic data is essential for DTs that make use of
iterations or services involving different timescales, e.g., DTs that are based on neural
networks and apply real-time updates.
• The aggregation service allows aggregations between different data sets such as
copying or calculations to be performed automatically by the framework. This is
especially useful to group information from lower levels to a correspondingly higher
level, i.e., collecting wind turbine data (unit level) and providing it to a wind park
(plant level).
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 20 of 29

Interactions, such as data exchange or the configuration of a service, are performed via
the same entry point and the same APIs for each connected client. DT functionalities, such
as Machine Learning or uncertainty quantification, can be implemented accessibly for IoT
devices by each client locally in the form of external services. Already existing functions can
be integrated using the provided common protocols of the IoT. The concept of connecting all
functionalities via cloud-based protocols allows the adaption to different requirements with
regard to scalability, multi-fidelity, location independence, and modularization. As shown,
the cloud-based framework itself works as the communication hub with data integration,
while the computing tasks involved in services are run and completed locally at each
client itself, thus making full use of distributed (edge) computing capacity to save data
transmission bandwidth.

Figure 5. The cloud-based framework architecture connected to a single DTS.

3.4. Selected Application Scenarios for the Future Power System

The future power system faces several already described challenges which shall be
handled and solved in a holistic manner that considers all system levels. In the following,
three application scenarios incorporating different system levels are discussed. It will be
shown that with the proposed SDTS and framework, a systematic optimization, exploiting
the benefits of the DT technology, is feasible.

3.4.1. Economic Dispatch

In order to guarantee a stable frequency, the electrical grid needs to be in equilibrium
between power injection and consumption at all times. Thus, market and physical processes
need to be coordinated and aligned in a scheduling process before the time of delivery. This
is achieved by dividing the system into balancing groups. Every injection or consumption
into or from the electrical grid needs to be assigned to one balancing group. The balancing
group manager is the responsible party to maintain the balancing group equilibrium within
defined time intervals (normally 15 min). Due to forecast errors, this goal can only be
achieved up to a certain extent. However, the remaining deviations between planned and
real power production and consumption within the balancing group lead to costs as the
transmission system operator charges for the resulting frequency regulation services in the
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 21 of 29

form of balancing energy. These deviations can be avoided through pooled biddings on
energy markets and plant adjustments through the balancing group manager [106–108].
Optimal economic dispatch within the balancing group management can be efficiently
realized with the proposed SDTS on the grid and plant level as shown in Figure 6. On the
plant level, probabilistic forecasting is realized so that uncertainty is taken into account
during the bidding process from the overall optimizer on the grid level. The power forecast
can be augmented with live data from the physical device, as this information improves
the accuracy, especially of short-term forecasts. The forecast as well as the actual states of
plants are communicated through the RM to the economic dispatch service. Based on this
information, the economic dispatch service takes into account different market options and
places bids for the aggregation of all plants. During the operation phase, the aggregated
bids are matched by controlling the individual power plants of the respective balancing
group. The calculated set points drop down from the grid level to the plant level where
they are distributed to individual units of the power plant through the CMs.

Figure 6. Exemplary scenario for grid and plant level: Economic dispatch based on probabilistic
power forecast.

3.4.2. Load-Aware Wind Farm Control

Another possible application aims at exploiting the potential of the proposed SDTS in
going beyond the conventional wind farm operation strategy toward economic wind farm
operation. In the conventional approach, commonly known as the greedy control strategy,
each turbine maximizes its individual power production. However, this neglects the costs
caused by mechanical loads due to intra-plant flow effects such as wakes [109,110]. In case
a battery unit is being used, a greedy operation further disregards the degradation and
permanent loss in the charge capacity of the storage unit. With the proposed multi-level
SDTS approach, this strategy could be replaced with an advanced economic operation
where the revenue is maximized by considering resulting wake effects within the farm and
mechanical loading of the individual units [111,112].
The scenario is visualized in Figure 7. First, the physical entities at the unit level
(wind turbines, batteries) are connected to a super controller at the plant level. Its task is to
determine the overarching control strategy for the entire plant. This is implemented in the
form of an extrinsic service, which passes optimal set points down to the individual units.
The goal is to consider the turbine loading in the set-point calculation. This quantity and
the resulting fatigue damage accumulation depend highly on the ambient wind conditions.
Consequently, there is room for optimization in situations with high loading but expendable
power production. Two virtual models are necessary: first, a wind farm flow model,
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 22 of 29

that mirrors the states of all relevant flow quantities, such as turbulence intensity, in the
farm; second, a damage model of the turbines that predicts the instantaneous loading
of each turbine under the current inflow conditions. However, the remaining lifetime of
each individual turbine has to be computed at the unit level. Both are combined in an
optimization algorithm to find the optimal set point.
At the unit level, the DTs of the individual units record the total damage and the re-
maining useful lifetimes for wind turbines, battery units, and others. The damage-tracking
task is implemented as an extrinsic service, and the reported damage is communicated
to the extrinsic service application running at the plant level. It should be noted that
for accurate damage tracking of individual units, the corresponding DT shall utilize live
measurements obtained from the SCADA unit of the respective physical entity.

Figure 7. Exemplary scenario for plant and unit level: Farm control with revenue maximization by
considering wake effects and mechanical loading.

3.4.3. Fault-Tolerant Control

In wind energy conversion systems, converter faults are one of the most frequent
faults at the component level, which degrade the system performance [113]. A short-circuit
fault is easy to detect and directly triggers a system shutdown. In contrast, an open-switch
fault requires enhanced fault detection methods [113]. The latter fault degrades the system
performance drastically or even causes secondary faults in other components if no proper
counteractions are taken timely [114]. Thus, the generator is usually shut down after fault
detection, producing no electricity at all and leading to generation losses. Instead, with the
SDTS enabling online fault detection and diagnosis of the faulty switch, the CM switches
to fault-tolerant control in that case, as shown in Figure 8.
More precisely, the virtual inverter models, running in parallel to the physical hard-
ware, replicate the real inverter behaviors in normal operation. The fault detection and
diagnosis are based on the comparison between virtual and real measurements, as un-
expected fault leads to abnormal deviations. Finally, evaluating these deviations—e.g.,
by checking if characteristic thresholds are exceeded—triggers the CM to immediately
switch from normal to fault-tolerant control. A possible fault-tolerant control is introduced
in [114], where the injection of an optimal d-axis current for the machine-side inverter
of type 4 wind turbines is presented with minor performance degradation. In addition,
the fault diagnosis service in Figure 8 identifies the faulty switch and communicates with
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 23 of 29

the upper unit level via the RM. The interconnections between different CMs shall work in
collaboration to improve the operation of the whole unit.

Figure 8. Exemplary scenario for unit and component level: machine control under open-switch
converter faults.

In vertical communication between the unit and component level, the upper-level
CM is aware of the fault and adapts the operation strategy of the economic control service,
re-coordinates the generation of set points, and adjusts parameter tuning to achieve global
optimization on the unit level; by, e.g., taking into account (slightly) increased losses and
torque ripples during the active fault-tolerant control mode. For horizontal communication
at the component level, considering a WT configuration with battery and assuming that
the machine-, battery- and grid-side inverter share a common DC-link, a simple way of
CM communication can be realized by modifying the DC-link voltage. For instance, if the
machine-side converter feeds in less power to the DC-link after a fault, the DC-link voltage
decreases. However, the battery-side converter recognizes the voltage drop, and its droop
control automatically increases the power output in order to keep the DC-link voltage
constant, or at least in a predefined range. As long as enough battery energy is left, the grid-
side converter is able to provide the same services as in normal (fault-free) mode. Similarly,
assuming a grid-side instead of a machine-side inverter fault, the battery can absorb extra
energy to compensate for the reduced capability of feeding power to the grid. This allows
the operation of the machine-side inverter and the wind turbine at the maximum power
point as in normal mode as long as the battery is not fully charged. In summary, increased
generation reliability is achieved by the proposed multi-hierarchical SDTS.

4. Conclusions
In this paper, a comprehensive literature review of digital twin (DT) applications
with a focus on electrical power systems is given. The review assesses the existing DT
definitions and evaluates their features with respect to the requirements imposed by the
future power system and potentially needed DT capabilities. The review shows that there
is a significant gap between definitions and features necessary for a generic utilization of
DTs in future power systems. Therefore, an extended DT definition is needed to close this
gap and to cover the wide range of implementations and applications of DTs. To this extent,
a refinement of the existing definition is proposed to introduce a modular “Digital Twin
System (DTS)”, where the concept of intrinsic and external services is established, allowing
to distinguish between the essential operational functionalities of a DT framework from
additional stakeholder-defined applications. The idea of a “System of Digital Twin Systems
(SDTS)” is introduced based on the refined DTS definition, where vertical and horizontal
data exchange allows to (inter)connect DTS at the component, unit, plant, and grid (system)
Sustainability 2023, 15, 5259 24 of 29

level, leading to a holistic cyber-physical power system with the potential of global system
optimization. Afterward, a software framework for the proposed SDTS concept is proposed
and implemented using and extending open-source software platforms. With a central
database and distributed clients, the framework acts as a central communication hub for
low-latency communication and provides flexibility in service definition and distribution.
The modular architecture ensures an easy extension, and the generic data structure “Thing”
makes the framework applicable to a universal use cases. Finally, three exemplary applica-
tion scenarios that involve multiple system levels are discussed to illustrate the capabilities
of the proposed SDTS concept to improve the operation of the future power system, taking
into account economic and functional aspects. Currently, the practical realization and
implementation of the proposed cross-level and cross-platform framework is under in-
vestigation. Although the general SDTS framework is already running on Eclipse Ditto,
the implementation of, e.g., services becomes tricky as synchronization among different
DTSs and non-deterministic communication latencies (over TCP/IP) must be taken into
account. In conclusion, the proposed framework and the idea of SDTS allow for a generic
implementation and application to future power systems; however, several technical issues
must still be solved in the future.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.K., C.M.H. and S.H.; methodology, A.A., A.T., J.P., O.K.,
R.B. and Z.S.; software, C.R.; validation, A.A., A.T., J.P., O.K., R.B. and Z.S.; investigation, A.A.,
A.T., J.P., O.K., R.B. and Z.S.; resources, A.K, C.M.H. and S.H.; data curation, A.A., A.T., J.P., O.K.,
R.B. and Z.S.; writing—original draft preparation, A.A., A.T., C.M.H., C.R., J.P., O.K., R.B. and Z.S.;
writing—review and editing, C.M.H. and Z.S.; visualization, A.A., A.T., J.P., O.K., R.B. and Z.S.;
supervision, C.M.H.; project administration, C.M.H.; funding acquisition, A.K., C.M.H. and S.H. All
authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz
(BMWK, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany) under grant number
03EI6020A (TUM), 03EI6020B (HM), 03EI6020C (ZSW) and 03EI6020D (MesH).
Data Availability Statement: Data sharing not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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