The role of Adaptive Energy Digital Twin technology in decarbonising emissions in the New Zealand process heat sector

Abstract

New Zealand (NZ) is uniquely placed to meet the goal of net zero emissions in the industry sector by 2050, but only with an 80% expansion of renewable electricity generation (TWh) combined with energy efficiency improvements through advanced process heat integration, improved energy system design and control, future deployment of high temperature heat pumps (HTHP) for process heat up to 200oC and biomass for heat above 200oC, and smart integration of renewable electricity via microgrid connected factories and communities. The development of Adaptive Energy Digital Twin (AEDT) technology applied widely by energy consultants, equipment providers and factory owners, is considered a key development to aid industry decarbonisation. A seven-year research programme is underway in NZ to develop an open source AEDT technology platform and to demonstrate its usefulness for decarbonising a wide variety of industry sectors, such as dairy, meat, food, wood, paper, metals and chemical processing industries of NZ. Electricity supply and demand differences across the regions of NZ for 2020 and predicted for 2050 are also presented.