Coupling Digital Twins with Human Expertise to Scale-Up Electrochemical Energy Devices: Present & Future
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Currently, there is considerable excitement surrounding the potential of Digital Twins (DTs) for electrochemical energy devices; however, there is also significant ambiguity regarding the DT term itself. Often, it is confused with a standard mathematical model, which is simply a digital representation of a physical system. In this Perspective article, we first aim to provide a unified definition of a DT. We clarify that a true DT requires real-time, automated, and bidirectional interaction between the physical system and its digital counterpart. Furthermore, we discuss why DTs are complementary to human scientists and engineers and not their replacement. We then delve into the concept of Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) where DTs are overseen and controlled by human operators and/or where DTs are used as a copilot of human scientific intelligence. We also explore these concepts focusing specifically on the battery field, with examples in the context of research and design of battery management systems, self-driving laboratories for battery material synthesis, and battery manufacturing. Finally, we discuss the emerging opportunities in regards of the implementation of advanced artificial intelligence techniques in DTs and HITL approaches for the accelerated design and optimization of electrochemical energy devices, but also we warn about the associated challenges..
Source: ChemRxiv
Authors: Lei Qin, Victor Ramirez-Camacho, Mohammed Alabdali, Avaneesh Balasubramanian, Siwar Ben Hadj Ali, Pempa Tshering Bhutia, Imelda Cardenas-Sierra, Maxence Desnoyers, Malaika Hussain, Rashen Lou Omongos, Soorya Saravanan, Arjun Sankar, Pei Sun, Sohpie Tran, Abhilash Valisammagari, Sourab Barath Vijayaraghavan, Emmanuel Yerumoh, Xingyu Zhang, Francisco Fernandez, Alejandro A. Franco
Language: English
Subfield: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204184986