Digital Twin to Accelerate Energy Transition in Vienna

The Aspern Smart City Research project will use digital twin technology to increase grid capacity and flexibility in Aspern Seestadt urban development

Aspern Smart City Research (ASCR), which claims to be Europe’s largest energy research project, is commissioning Siemens to roll out new low-voltage software in Aspern Seestadt, an urban development project in Vienna’s fast-growing 22nd district in the north-east of the city. The LV Insights X grid management software, part of Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio, will enable ASCR to create a digital twin of its distribution grid, enabling flexible network management.

The technology will help ASCR to increase grid capacity and accelerate energy transition. Using LV Insights X, ASCR will be able to visualise the entire low-voltage network of Aspern Seestadt, a city-within-a-city, which will provide housing for more than 25,000 and offer thousands of workplaces.

With a digital twin, ASCR can identify critical segments, increase the usable capacity of its grid, and integrate more renewable energy without additional grid expansion, supporting their decarbonisation efforts. The new software could reduce power outages by 30%. “Generating data-driven insights is essential to overcome the growing – and sometimes unpredictable – challenges in the power grid and ensuring efficient and reliable grid operations,” said Sabine Erlinghagen, CEO, Siemens Grid Software.

“Implementing LV Insights X is the next milestone in our partnership with ASCR, incorporating valuable insights gained from a fruitful collaboration. We are excited to support ASCR in becoming a trailblazer on the path to net-zero,” said Matthias Gressel, general manager of ASCR. “The use of decentralised, renewable energy resources is essential in sustainable urban areas. Increased flexibility and transparency are the key to optimising network planning and management. With LV Insights X we can take this to a completely new level in Aspern Seestadt, Vienna.”

LV Insights X was launched in June 2023 and provides the foundation for flexible, adaptable, and scalable low-voltage grid management. Based on existing network data, ASCR can create a complete digital twin of its distribution network, as well as plan and operate it much more flexibly with near real-time insights. Siemens reports that “broadly speaking”, the software enables distribution system operators (DSOs) to reduce outage times by up to 30%.

LV Insights X is part of Siemens Xcelerator, an open digital business platform that enables customers to accelerate their digital transformation easier, faster, and at scale. It is an off-the-shelf, ready-to-use solution, with a short implementation time and is designed to have open standard interfaces, which can be configured with a simple drag and drop.

Aspern Smart City Research was launched in 2013 by Siemens, Wien Energie, Wiener Netze as well as Wien 3420 and the Vienna Business Agency. It uses real data from the Aspern Seestadt urban development area to research solutions for the future of energy in urban areas.