ENTSO-E publishes a new report outlining the benefits of a Federated approach for Digital Twins and setting out a strategic pathway to accelerate the digital transformation of Europe’s electricity system. 

Modern energy grids are increasingly using digital twins – a dynamic virtual representation of a real object, system, or process that is continuously updated by its real-world counterpart – to improve operational efficiency and enhance overall system optimisation. 

This report is intended for experts and managers at Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and related organisations such as Distribution System Operators (DSOs), energy market operators and regulatory bodies. It outlines the advantages of the federated digital twin approach and focuses on strategic, architectural, and governance considerations required to enable interoperable, scalable, and resilient digital twin ecosystems across organisations and borders.  

As TSOs increasingly deploy digital twins, many implementations have been developed to meet specific operational needs. These tailored solutions have delivered significant value and driven meaningful innovation, yet the expected exponential scale of deployments will require a more coordinated approach. In this context, federation means connecting independently operated digital twins into a system-of-systems through shared semantics, open standards, and common governance enabling interoperability and cross-border coordination without centralisation or loss of data sovereignty.  

ENTSO-E’s report calls for action on common data foundations, lifecycle-aligned modelling, cybersecurity and functional-safety integration, and greater alignment on open standards and cross-domain ontologies. 

Digital Twins - Towards a Federated Approach is available here.