Case Study: Assystem achieves extended fusion powerplant lifetime value with Altair SmartWorks IoT digital twin

Improving Lifetime Value of a Fusion Powerplant Using a Physics-based Digital Twin

Assystem, an international engineering and digital services group focused on low‑carbon projects and contracted by UKAEA on fusion programs, needed to turn its expensive physics‑based design models into an operational digital twin that could ingest live plant sensor streams, accommodate virtual sensors and Reduced Order Models/Functional Mock‑up Units, and integrate with existing UKAEA systems. To meet this challenge Assystem worked with Altair, leveraging Altair SmartWorks IoT as the platform to connect plant data to the physics models and visualization layer.

Altair implemented a cloud‑agnostic SmartWorks IoT backbone with edge connectivity, serverless functions and Python triggers to call FEA, ROMs and fatigue analysis models, while integrating weather, SPDM, and alerting (SMS/email) services. The solution created a seamless data flow to a true digital twin, enabled virtual sensors to assess fatigue damage and calculate remaining useful life (RUL), optimized inspection and maintenance schedules, extended the plant’s useful life and delivered a higher return on Assystem’s development investments. Altair’s SmartWorks IoT provided the real‑time analytics and visualization needed for these measurable operational improvements.

Assystem

Adam Towse

Senior Principal - Simulation and Assessment Engineer