Digital twin based what-if simulation for energy management

The manufacturing sector is one of the largest energy consumers in the industrial world, being the energy consumption by the shop-floor equipment, e.g., robots, machines and AGVs (Autonomous Guided Vehicles), a major issue. The combination of energy-efficient technologies with intelligent and digital technologies can reduce energy consumption. The application of the digital twin concept in the energy efficiency field is a promising research topic, taking advantage of the Industry 4.0 technological developments. This paper presents a digital twin architecture for energy optimisation in manufacturing systems, particularly based on a what-if simulation model. The applicability of the proposed what-if simulation model within the digital twin is presented to promote the efficient energy management of AGVs in a battery pack assembly line case study.