Sometimes the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Kristin Hestetun grew up in Årdal, was a ski racer in the winter, and helped maintain Hydro electrolysis cells in the summer. So when she was offered a position as a process control engineer at Årdal
“It was a bit of a readjustment, after having been gone for so long, but it’s great to be close to family again. And it’s a bonus to be able to go out on a beautiful day and ski or hike up the peaks if you want to.”
On the way to coming full circle she got her PhD in Engineering Cybernetics at NTNU, then worked as a researcher optimizing oil and gas production systems. Growing up in an academic household — her parents both teach at the local high school — clearly led to her highly developed spirit of inquiry.
“I love the challenges of my job — especially when I get to use my knowledge to develop models and advanced process control systems for the future. We’re committed to keeping cells performing at their best.” Ultimately, that means more efficient electrolysis processes resulting in decreased emissions. “There’s no question we have to reduce our energy consumption. It’s the only way we will survive. We are developing new technologies such as heat recovery which we’ll be putting in our plants all over the world to make sure that can happen.”
The culture of collaboration, communication and knowledge sharing at Hydro advances that intention. Meetings with other engineers and operators are a large part of her job. “My colleagues are from all over the world. It’s rewarding to start to understand other cultures, and we learn a lot by exploring different points of view.” She thinks if the world were to follow this model, and become more open minded, “we could start to reduce not just global emissions, but also conflict on every level.”
Now that would be a mountain top experience.
