Yara International, Kongsberg Digital join forces on digital twin technology

Norwegian industrial software provider Kongsberg Digital and compatriot fertilizer company and ammonia player Yara International have entered into a two-year agreement under which Kongsberg Digital will develop digital twin technology for Yara’s factories in Herøya in Norway and Sluiskil in the Netherlands.

The agreement includes an operational twin for Yara’s production facilities at Herøya in Porsgrunn and a project twin for the carbon capture project in Sluiskil in the Netherlands.

According to the duo, the ambition is to deploy the solution to Yara’s production facilities worldwide.

The operational twin for the production facility at Herøya will utilize industrial data from the factory in combination with technical data and equipment documentation. Based on this, a contextualized work surface with detailed 3D models of the plant and the various units will be created, along with associated maintenance, operational, and facility information gathered from the factory’s sensors and data sources. The work surface will assist users in making the right decision at the right time by providing relevant information.

“Yara is collaborating with several partners for our digitalisation program. We chose Kongsberg Digital because of its technical solutions and flexible user interface. Yara is the first wholly Norwegian industrial company to use Kognitwin – Kongsberg Digital’s twin technology. With this technology, a significant improvement in the work process is expected, thereby leading to a more efficient workday for engineering, maintenance, and operations,” Merete Østby, Digital Manager at Yara Porsgrunn, commented.

“It is a fantastic recognition for Kongsberg Digital to develop and deliver twin technology to Yara. We will build on the already close cooperation between Kongsberg Gruppen and Yara and deliver technology that provides Yara with improved insights and new opportunities to optimise the operation of their facilities. For Kongsberg Digital, this marks a significant milestone as this agreement demonstrates our use of digital twin technology and how we are solving common challenges across the process and chemical industry,” Shane McArdle, CEO of Kongsberg Digital, said.

Twin technology will also be implemented into the carbon capture project at Yara’s facility in Sluiskil, Netherlands, where a new carbon capture unit is being built to convert CO2 gas into liquid before transporting it by ship for injection and storage in reservoirs in the North Sea.

The twin technology is expected to play an essential role in this project by contributing to efficient collaboration and preparations for data transfer from project to operation before the plant is operational. The digital twin will establish a “digital thread” through all project phases and into the operation and maintenance phase.

“With digital twin technology, Yara takes another great stride forward in digitalising our production. This technology has the potential to optimise operations by gathering and visualising large amounts of data and information on a simple and user-friendly platform. Together with Yara’s Digital Production Platform – our industrial IoT platform – this opens up entirely new possibilities for data-driven insights,” Roar Nilsen, Program Manager Yara International ASA, concluded.