Utilities from all sectors are facing an era of unprecedented change, and the 2025 Digital Built World Summit is bringing together leaders in innovation to discuss how digital thinking can help overcome new hurdles.
As inflation drives cost-of-living ever upwards, utilities are tasked with providing affordable prices for their customers, while ensuring the reliability and resilience of their networks.
Both the water and energy sector are also working tirelessly to reach net zero targets in the face of capital, labour and materials challenges that make achieving these goals uncertain.
For public energy utilities, these challenges are only further amplified by earnings pressure amid a volatile energy market – and the grid is only getting more complex to operate as distributed energy resources introduce an influx of new information and variables into the system.
Similarly, extreme weather events and floods are threatening water network assets, while extended droughts and higher temperatures are heightening the need to conserve this precious resource.
Solutions are needed to these issues and digital technologies can provide many of the answers. Digital twins in particular can form a key part of a utility’s digital transformation initiatives.
Digital twins can help the sector address some of their main pain points, such as extending the life cycles of their critical assets and improving overall asset optimisation. Additionally, digital twins can help build out energy infrastructure as well as be a powerful and modernised tool for a utility’s capital planning efforts.
The Digital Built World Summit is your gateway to understanding these cutting-edge solutions.
Some powerful but fundamental value use cases are already apparent for the application of a large-scale digital twin to enhance asset management outcomes for utilities. These include:
Asset lifecycle
Digital twins can mirror an asset’s entire lifecycle, from design through to maintenance and operations.
Real-time data
Digital twins can use real-time data from sensors to monitor asset performance and predict maintenance needs.
Virtual walkthroughs
Digital twins can create a user-friendly interface that allows staff to conduct virtual walkthroughs of assets.
Reduced risk
Digital twins can help utilities reduce operational risks and increase profitability.
Improved operations
Digital twins can help utilities improve operations and maintenance, reduce downtime and extend the life of assets.
Consolidated view
Digital twins provide a single view of a utility’s operations, combining information technology, operational technology, and engineering data.
The Digital Built World Summit is where digital engineering, operations and asset management leaders come together annually to learn how to leverage technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make informed decisions.
The fourth annual event will take place 18–19 February at Doltone House, Darling Island in Sydney and features more than 40 expert speakers from utilities, energy, mining and transport who are leading their fields in digital innovation. It will highlight how digital thinking can drive more value from data, optimise infrastructure performance and deliver better outcomes for society.
Interested in joining 200+ key stakeholders from across the built world to connect, learn and find partners? Visit the website for the full program and speaker line-up, and for details on how to register.
View the full program here.
Featured image: improvee design/stock.adobe.com.au