Digital twin uses cases showcased by accelerator initiative

Nine SMEs demonstrate sector-specific algorithms at the UK Digital Twin Centre in Belfast

UK innovation agency Digital Catapult has showcased a new wave of industrial digital twin deployments, with nine SMEs emerging from its first Digital Twin Adoption Accelerator in Belfast.

The programme, which was created alongside the UK Digital Twin Centre, set out to address a persistent challenge for emerging technologies and the startups working with them: translating digital twins from proofs-of-concept to tools that deliver measurable business value. The firms participating focused on aerospace, maritime and defence, using real-time data, simulation and AI to model complex systems and optimise decision-making.

Digital twins are dynamic virtual replicas of physical assets or processes. They are continuously updated with sensor data, enabling organisations to test scenarios, predict outcomes and optimise operations - for example in nuclear fusion experiments.

The Belfast accelerator demonstrated how those capabilities can translate into sector-specific applications. For example, one company, Voxshell connected design, simulation and manufacturing environments into a unified digital twin platform for aerospace. This enables engineers to visualise real-time system behaviour and reduce prototyping costs.

Another, Helix8, focused on maritime applications working with the Port of Larne to build a geospatial digital twin capable of analysing live IoT data from port infrastructure. This model helped simulate energy demand and decarbonisation scenarios, underlining the value of digital twins in sustainability and electrification challenges.

For Digital Catapult, the programme’s core objective was to demystify the technology and demonstrate its commercial viability.

Sherrie Rad, programme lead at Innovate UK said: "The Digital Twin Adoption Accelerator has shown how collaboration between technology innovators and industry can accelerate the practical deployment of digital twins and create measurable value for businesses. The solutions showcased today demonstrate the transformative potential of digital twins to improve performance, increase resilience and support more sustainable industrial operations."

The next challenge will be scaling these pilots into production systems that can deliver consistent returns across complex, multi-partner industrial ecosystems.