Digital Twins for Research and Innovation in Support of the European Green Deal Data Space: A Systematic Review

Abstract

According to the European Data Strategy established in 2020, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is described as “the basis for a science, research and innovation data space… and will be connected and articulated with the sectoral data spaces”, being one of the 14 European Common Data Spaces. While current cross-sectoral interactions with the EOSC are realised through the association’s Health Data Task Force, advancements in other EU priorities, such as the Green Deal and the Digital Strategy, should be accelerated in the green and digital transitions and integrated by reinforcing each other to be climate-neutral by 2050. With this motivation, this paper systematically reviews data spaces and digital twins (DTs) within the context of research and innovation. Specifically, focusing on the relevance of the EOSC to the Green Deal Data Space (GDDS) and DTs of the Earth, the relationship between them is explored using a topic search with various keyword combinations in the Web of Science and CORDIS databases. Based on the selected scientific articles and projects, collaboration opportunities are mapped to connect relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, existing and developing service components that could contribute to technical building blocks for the GDDS are identified. In summary, key findings are highlighted, addressing the current gaps and opportunities among the GDDS initiatives presented in this review.