Glava Energy Center is looking for more energy-related projects for student theses.
Six students who have studied electrical engineering at Karlstad University completed their theses in spring 2025. Their theses within the LOKEN project cover topics such as hybrid production, temperature simulation in solar panels, and local energy planning. Now, Glava Energy Center is looking for more energy cases that can be used as theses for spring 2026. Contact us by September 30.
Hybrid Production
Ghirmay Okubay and Roya Bagheri have studied the technical and financial conditions for improving hybrid energy production in Arvika. Right now, the electricity grid limits the connection of larger energy plants. But this can be solved by combining hydropower with solar panels, battery storage, and other technologies. The students’ conclusion is that Arvika can meet its energy challenges effectively by making full use of the current grid connections at Arvika Kraft AB’s hydropower plants. This is a smart way to handle today’s limitations in the electricity grid.
"Early in the project, I faced a challenge managing production data from Arvika Kraft. I solved it by processing the data using the programming language Python," says student Ghirmay Okubay.
"For me, working with Glava Energy Center and LOKEN was very valuable. I am happy that the project was completed and that it maintained high quality."
Temperatures in Solar Panels
Adam Lund and Simon Olsson have studied how the temperature of solar cells is affected by how they are installed—and how that changes the energy they produce. They compared a ground-mounted solar system and a roof-mounted system, using measurement data from Glava Energy Center. This data was used in the simulation model Alfrödull to compare real values with different existing temperature models. The results show that how the panels are installed has a big impact on the cell temperature, and that the models give different results for the two setups. This means good temperature modeling is very important to predict how much electricity the solar panels will produce.
"One of the biggest challenges during the work was analyzing and processing the large amount of collected data. By converting all data to the same time zone and resolution, the data could then be compiled and compared with simulations easily and smoothly using graphs," says Simon Olsson.
Adam Lund is grateful for the cooperation with Glava Energy Center:
"Weekly meetings created a sense of security and gave us extra motivation, which was really needed at times. Getting guidance and being able to discuss ideas has been invaluable."
Energy Planning in Arvika
Klas Gryttman and Martin Lindell Eklund’s thesis supports earlier conclusions from Arvika Municipality about the chances of switching to a sustainable energy system. Their goal was to model and simulate Arvika’s current energy system and analyze how it could develop over the next 20 years. Their simulations show that Arvika can become climate neutral and self-sufficient in electricity—producing as much as it uses locally. But this will require smart investments in renewable energy, especially wind and solar power, and improvements to the electricity grid. The results give important input for the city’s future energy and climate work.
The supervisors for the theses were researchers Andreas Theocaris and Seema Seema, along with Isac Myrén Andersson and David Olsson from Glava Energy Center. The examiner was researcher Reza Sirjani.
Does your company have an energy case that could be part of a student thesis in spring 2026?
Contact the project managers Isac Myrén Andersson or Oliver Ingwall King by September 30. Contact details can be found here.