New in THEMA
Ole Kristian Ådnanes
Analyst
I studied industrial economics and technology management, specialising in power systems, optimisation and applied economics, at NTNU. When considering what to do after my studies, I realised that the subject areas covered by my degree form a good basis for understanding how power markets work. I have long been interested in the power sector and its role in the ongoing green transition. With THEMA, my impression was that I would be able to work on problems that interest me and use much of what I learned as a student. This made the choice to work at THEMA simple.
THEMA is a relatively small company and, as a new employee, it didn’t take long for me to get to know my colleagues. An important principle is that one learns best from actually working on projects. That’s why we start working on projects from day one. The thought of being given responsibility right away seemed intimidating at first but works well due to our culture of cooperating and sharing experience with one another. Asking colleagues questions is strongly encouraged. When we’re not working, there are social events such as THEMActive, when we do a fun activity followed by dinner, and Young in THEMA (“Ung i THEMA”). These events are a great way to get to know coworkers in an informal setting.
Since starting at THEMA I have worked on THEMA’s power price forecasts and corporate valuations. Working on the price forecasts, I’ve learnt about important drivers and developments in the European power system and how these affect power prices in the long term. It is also exciting to be part of the team that works on the models used to make the forecasts. In the valuation projects, we estimate the market value of power companies as part of merger and acquisition processes or the restructuring of the companies. In these projects, I’ve learnt important determinants of the market value of power companies and have participated in several transaction processes.
«I think THEMA is a great place to work with exciting projects and friendly and skilled coworkers. Mentoring and internal courses provide great opportunities for both personal and professional development. If you are interested in the power sector, I highly recommend THEMA..»
Mari Nyhaug
Analyst
I began my career in THEMA in August of 2019 after completing my master’s degree in nanotechnology from NTNU. I have always been interested in renewable energy and did research on a new solar cell technology for my thesis. However, I found the long road from the research lab to the actual market a bit discouraging. Therefore, I was excited when I was offered a position as an analyst at THEMA. Here, I get to work with the problems that the energy industry is facing right now, and I also get to do projects with many different market players. We work closely with the ongoing energy transition and our projects have a big impact in the real world – this motivates me!
So far, I have worked a lot with grid companies and the challenges they are facing with the large electrification wave. Here in Norway, we are so used to the electricity just “being there”, but now when everything from cars and buses, to ships, trucks and maybe even planes are going electric, our power grid is challenged. In THEMA we try, together with our clients, to find smart solutions for distributing energy to everyone who needs it, while keeping the cost low.
As a new employee in THEMA, I feel like we get a lot of responsibility early on. At the same time, our company has tons of experts that are more than willing to share their knowledge and help you if you get stuck. As an engineer, I didn’t have any experience solving economic issues. Through our teamwork I get to use my technical background while at the same time learn more about the economic aspects. An example of this is when I took lead on developing a model that combined technical insight with an economic analysis to help our client make an investment decision.
We have friendly working environment with a good balance concerning age, gender and education. If desired, there are several opportunities for social get-togethers with colleagues. Since THEMA is a small business, it is possible to get to know everyone. I strongly recommend working at THEMA if you are interested in renewable energy and climate change.
«In THEMA, bright minds get to make a difference through serving the market and decisionmakers with strong fact-based analyses to base their important decision on..»