Digital twins, which we cover in Module F (Simulations and Digital Twins), is a big topic at Nvidia and Siemens as they work together to make nuclear fusion a commercial reality. In that chapter (see p. 847), we define a digital twin as: “an electronic virtual replica of an operation that allows organizations to mimic how a product, process, or system will perform.”
Fusion engineers at the Nvidia/Siemens venture, called Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), will use its digital twin to run simulations, ultimately to hasten the goal of producing fusion energy at a commercial scale. CFS “will be able to compress years of manual experimentation into weeks” with the AI assistance, said its CEO.
Nuclear fission, which splits atoms to produce energy, is already in use in power plants, reports The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 7, 2026). But many companies see fusion, the energy process that powers the sun by joining atoms together, as a longer-term bet because it can provide much more energy in a cleaner process. Nuclear energy appeals to tech giants because it releases minimal carbon emissions while providing round-the-clock power—particularly as they look to fuel their AI ambitions.
CFS said it was working with Google on an AI project, and explained that that effort has created something like a co-pilot for its fusion machine, while the digital twin plan “is the virtual airplane.” Google also recently signed a power purchase agreement with CFS to secure energy from what could be the first grid-scale fusion plant.
“The race is on for AI. Everyone is trying to get to the next frontier,” said Nvidia’s CEO.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Provide other examples of how digital twins can be used.
- Why is this fusion project so important as an OM tool?