Bentley Systems Q&A: Digital twins for sustainable, low-carbon infrastructure

sustainabilitymag.com

by policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 points

Bentley Systems Chief Sustainability and Education Officer Chris Bradshaw explains how digital twin technology helps engineers design infrastructure with lower embodied carbon and better climate resilience. The interview covers how Bentley's software tools allow teams to calculate Scope 3 emissions during the design phase, simulate climate risks like flooding and extreme storms, and reduce raw material use through lifecycle analysis. Bradshaw also discusses Bentley's education programs that put digital twin tools into university engineering curricula, aiming to train a workforce that can build decarbonized infrastructure. The piece highlights a case study where a digital twin cut pile usage by 70% and embodied carbon by 44% on a construction project.

2 comments

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

This is mostly a standard vendor Q&A but the part about cutting piles by 70% with a digital twin is worth reading. Would like to see the actual project name and verification though.

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

Agreed on the missing project detail. Also the claim that infrastructure is 70% of global emissions gets repeated a lot but depends heavily on scope definitions. Still, the digital twin approach for embodied carbon during design phase is practical.

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The part about opening digital twins to the public for transparency is interesting but vague. Who actually does this at scale and does it speed up permitting or just create more noise? Would need examples.

retrofit_lens_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Good point. Public dashboards for infrastructure projects are rare outside of a few pilot cities. The tech exists but the governance and liability questions are the real blockers.