Advancing Digital Twin Technology for Optimized Nuclear Waste Management: Bridging Disciplines and Enhancing Safety

The nuclear sector is on the verge of adopting new technologies to enhance its safety-critical and socially significant operations. Among these innovations, Digital Twins (DT) offer a powerful tool for informed decision-making, operational efficiency, and transparency. The EURAD-2 DITOCO2030 work package aims to develop a roadmap to bridge the existing R&D gap between the currently fragmented DT applications across individual disciplines (e.g., engineering, safety, geology, infrastructure development) as well as data management systems and decision-making platforms.

This initiative will focus on identifying and integrating knowledge from various sectors to better understand the opportunities and limitations of DT technology. The goal is to support the optimization, construction, and operation of both surface and subsurface radioactive waste management facilities. A key element of this work will involve gathering and transferring existing knowledge from other industries and communities to the nuclear waste management sector. This will require combining human and technical competencies, aligned with the specific needs of DT projects and the broader industry and regulatory contexts.

The project will document and analyze current practices, conducting gap analyses to guide strategic recommendations for future DT development, with particular attention to the requirements of end-users. The WP will develop both qualitative and quantitative performance indicators to differentiate between effective and ineffective DT solutions in the long term. One of the significant challenges is aligning the various objectives and applications of DT—such as long-term safety, operational efficiency, design, optimization, and communication—while ensuring their integration in an interoperable way across all relevant disciplines. This alignment is essential for building practical knowledge that enhances and supports safety.

The work will also explore opportunities for cross-industry collaboration to advance innovation, performance, and efficiency in next-generation DT applications for the nuclear sector. Stakeholder engagement will be a focus, with workshops and dissemination activities designed to ensure feedback is incorporated and knowledge is shared efficiently. Ultimately, this work will pave the way for more integrated and effective deployment of DT throughout the lifecycle of nuclear waste management. The project will contribute to the future development and research opportunities related to how DT can support regulatory compliance, improve safety, and provide real-time monitoring, analysis, and reporting of asset performance and condition.