The DIATOMIC (Digital InnovAtion TransfOrMatIve Change) project, funded through an £8 million Innovate UK programme as part of the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, is led by the Connected Places Catapult in collaboration with Birmingham City Council and academic partners including Aston University, the University of Birmingham, and Birmingham City University. The project aims to develop a City Canvas for digital twin creation, enabling cities and businesses to design, build, and explore data-driven urban models to support innovation, sustainability, and evidence-based decision-making. In the first phase, the project successfully developed three core digital twins focusing on traffic and air quality (BCU), energy systems and infrastructure (University of Birmingham), and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (Aston University), establishing thefoundational platform and technical capabilities.
The project is now in its second phase, which focuses on innovation acceleration through collaboration with SMEs, supporting them in developing city-scale digital twin solutions, particularly within the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter (BKQ) and the Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor. This phase builds on the platform by enabling real-world applications and co-designed solutions with industry partners and aims to translate technical capabilities into tangible economic and societal impact, supporting regional growth while creating scalable digital twin solutions with potential national and global relevance. SMEs engaged in the programme include organisations such as BetaStreets, Velorim, SIYTE, Grid Stability, Underheat, Geospatial Insight (AREVI), and AI Gizmo.
The DIATOMIC project aligns strongly with our 2030 strategy by supporting its core priorities around research with real-world impact, regional engagement, and driving innovation-led growth. The project contributes to key research themes such as digital transformation, smart and sustainable cities, artificial intelligence, and data-driven decision-making. Through the development of the City Canvas and digital twin technologies, it enables interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthens BCU’s role in applied research that directly addresses urban challenges.
The project clearly demonstrates impact within Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, particularly through its collaboration with Birmingham City Council and its focus on the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter. By supporting SMEs, enabling data-driven urban planning, and contributing to sustainability and infrastructure improvements, DIATOMIC delivers tangible local impact while also positioning BCU as a key player in national digital innovation initiatives.
Project Team
The DIATOMIC project is delivered through a collaborative consortium led by the Connected Places Catapult, with partners including Birmingham City Council, the University of Birmingham, Aston University, and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
- Dr Abdel-Rahman Tawil – Principal Investigator (Birmingham City University), leading the university’s contribution to DIATOMIC.
- Dr Sara Hassan – Project Manager, overseeing coordination and delivery.
- Dr Khaled Mahbub – Development Lead, responsible for technical implementation of the platform.
- Dr Ahmad Wahab – Research Fellow, contributing to research and development.
- Konstantinos Vlachos – Research Fellow, contributing to research and development.
- Dr Antonio Nehme – Contributed during Phase 1, supporting initial development and implementation.
Consortium Partners
- Connected Places Catapult (Project Lead)
- Birmingham City Council
- University of Birmingham
- Aston University
- West Midlands Combined Authority
Impacts:
The DIATOMIC project is important because it addresses the growing need for data-driven, evidence-based decision-making in urban environments, particularly in areas such as transport, air quality, energy, and planning. Cities often face fragmented data, limited integration between systems, and slow decision-making processes; DIATOMIC tackles this by providing a unified City Canvas that enables stakeholders to design, test, and evaluate “what-if” scenarios using digital twin technology. Its impact lies in supporting more sustainable, efficient, and informed urban development while also enabling SMEs to innovate and contribute to the regional economy.
What makes the project unique and groundbreaking is its focus on accessible and reusable digital twin creation, rather than building isolated, one-off solutions. The platform is designed to be scalable, interoperable, and usable by both public sector organisations and businesses, supported by AI-driven capabilities such as automated insights and scenario modelling. It builds directly on previous work, including long-term collaboration with Birmingham City Council through initiatives such as the Big Data Corridor (BDC) and Data Science Collaboration (DSC), leveraging existing data infrastructure, domain expertise, and partnerships to deliver a more advanced and practical digital twin ecosystem with real-world impact.
Contact:
For further information about the project, please contact: Abdel-Rahman.Tawil@bcu.ac.uk