Piitu’s story is an example of how working at Ilmatar provides an opportunity to grow and develop in the field of renewable energy – and even to conduct significant research.
Piitu joined Ilmatar in spring 2023, first as a trainee in the physical trading team, where she was able to dive into the hectic world of the energy market. Over the summer, she quickly realized that the industry offered much more than the university courses had led her to expect.
When her summer job ended, Piitu was offered the opportunity to continue as a master’s thesis worker in Ilmatar’s New Business Development team. In her master’s thesis, Piitu delved deeper into studying the economic profitability of energy storage – a topic that is of great importance for the future of renewable energy.
“In my master’s thesis, I focused specifically on facilities designed for long-term energy storage. I tried to find different storage solutions that would be suitable specifically for balancing fluctuations in wind and solar energy production on a daily and weekly level. In practice, I collected data on the technical properties of these energy storage facilities and modelled their productivity in the day-ahead spot market and intraday market”, Piitu explains the content of her master’s thesis.
Innovative guidance and mentoring assistance
At Ilmatar, Piitu was guided by Katja Koponen, the leader of the New Business Development team, who Piitu describes as the “mastermind” and sparring partner of her master’s thesis.
Katja supervised my master’s thesis, provided the framework and goals, and gave me the freedom to plan the implementation of the thesis. She shared ideas, guided me when needed and encouraged me to strongly trust my own expertise, Piitu says.
