ORLEN Unipetrol, the refining and petrochemical group, is implementing Digital Twin in its refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou. The almost CZK 50 million investment allows the company to replicate real operations in a virtual environment, which will streamline the production process and simplify production planning. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group plans to spend up to CZK 5 billion on digitalisation until 2030.

The Digital Twin, a computer program that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning, uses real-world data to create a simulation and predict process outcomes. The Group also has plans to implement the Digital Twin of production units in other production locations.

“The digitalisation of all segments is a crucial part of the strategic development plan of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group and its transformation towards sustainability and net zero. We introduce new principles and digital solutions both in production and across processes within the entire Group. Implementing the Digital Twin project, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, will significantly boost production safety and efficiency,” says Mariusz Wnuk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ORLEN Unipetrol Group.

The Digital Twin operates by mirroring a real-world production process in a virtual environment. This allows for the simulation of workflows that the operator intends to implement in real operations. By simulating a workflow in the Digital Twin’s virtual environment, the operator can verify its efficiency.

The computer program of the Digital Twin, a virtual replica of real-world operations of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at the Kralupy Refinery, currently runs the ‘model debugging’ process. The program’s test period will continue for several months. Then it will be launched in full-fledged operations. The real-time mirroring of the technological process allows to verify and try technological processes on for size, set an optimal operating mode and unveil any operational deviations in time.