Digital: accelerating the pathway

The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme is an ambitious but challenging endeavour to design and deliver a prototype fusion power plant. It is a rapid, fast-moving programme, designing a first of a kind device in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment, and digital tools play a pivotal role in managing and navigating this space. Digital helps manage the complexity and sheer volume of information. Advanced modelling and simulation techniques provide a platform for designers to explore various scenarios and iteratively refine designs, providing insights into the intricate interplay of requirements, constraints and design factors across physics, technology and engineering domains and aiding informed decision-making amidst uncertainties. It also provides a means of building confidence in the new scientific, technological and engineering solutions, given that a full-scale-integrated precursor test is not feasible, almost by definition. The digital strategy for STEP is built around a vision of a digital twin of the whole plant. This will evolve from the current digital shadow formed by system architecting codes and complex workflows and will be underpinned by developing capabilities in plasma, materials and engineering simulation, data management, advanced control, industrial cybersecurity, regulation, digital technologies and related digital disciplines. These capabilities will help address the key challenges of managing the complexity and quantity of information, improving the reliability and robustness of the current digital shadow and developing an understanding of its validity and performance.This article is part of the theme issue 'Delivering Fusion Energy - The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)'.