Digital Twins: Shaping the Future of Energy Systems and Smart Cities through Cybersecurity, Efficiency, and Sustainability

Modern power systems are undergoing a rapid evolution toward digitization, facilitated by emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain Technology (BT), and Digital Twins (DT). DT is a promising enabling technology to transform many industries and society. DTs are sophisticated networks of linked systems to simulate the actual world in cyberspace as digital replicas. Such digital replication includes virtualizing a system’s components, operations, interactions, and software. Real-time data connections and information transfer let physical and digital systems coexist. Digital transformation in the energy sector improves technical, economic, and safety efficiency. Energy-related DT solutions in smart cities are intriguing and decision-support tools for stakeholders and decision-makers, but they need additional study and further technological advancements to be more efficient and usable. The article reviews the literature and practices of DT in energy systems in smart cities to provide new insights for future research trajectories. DTs can, among others, enhance cyber security, efficiency, sustainability, and reliability.