Finland’s NSC EnergyOpti acquires majority stake in Automous

Finnish energy services company NSC EnergyOpti Oy has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Finnish energy technology company Automous Oy.

Jyväskylä-headquartered NSC EnergyOpti specializes in AI-driven multi-market optimization, trading and asset management for flexible energy assets, while Automous, a deep-tech spinoff from Aalto University, develops technology that specializes in energy asset optimization and electricity market forecasting.

A statement published by NSC EnergyOpti explains the transaction will allow the companies to provide their customers – including energy producers, consumers and storage operators – with a more comprehensive offering across the energy optimization and trading value chain, including market access, intelligent optimization, forecasting, balancing services and operational energy trading.

“NSC brings market access, trading operations, customers and practical market knowledge, while Automous brings advanced forecasting and multi-market optimization technology,” Mikko Askolin, NSC’s chief operating officer and chairman of the board, explained to ESS News. “Bringing these capabilities together creates something that would be much harder to achieve through a conventional customer-supplier relationship.”

Automous will continue to operate as a separate company as part of NSC EnergyOpti following the transaction, acting as the majority shareholder. The companies have said existing customer agreements, services and support will continue following the transaction. 

Askolin added that NSC EnergyOpti has been working with Automous for some time, with the cooperation “making it clear that the capabilities of the two companies are highly complementary.” He explained that becoming a majority shareholder in Automous allows NSC EnergyOpti to align its technology development and commercial strategy much more closely, while accelerating product development and investing together with a longer-term perspective.

“For us, this is about much more than simply accessing a technology. Electricity markets are becoming increasingly complex, with assets participating simultaneously across day-ahead, intraday, balancing and reserve markets,” he said. “We believe the winners in this market will be those who can combine advanced forecasting, AI and algorithmic optimization with deep market expertise and the ability to execute trading and asset control in real time.”

Askolin also told ESS News that while the company’s main operational focus is currently in Finland, international expansion forms an important part of the rationale behind the transaction.

“The Nordic and Baltic electricity markets are a natural next step for us because of their increasingly high share of renewable generation, growing battery-storage capacity and sophisticated flexibility markets,” he explained. “Beyond the Nordics and Baltics, we see significant opportunities in selected European markets where increasing renewable generation, storage and price volatility are creating demand for more advanced multi-market optimization.”

He also said that any future expansion will be disciplined, rather than an attempt to enter every market at once.

“We intend to expand where our technology and operating model can create a clear advantage for customers and where we can build a scalable business,” Askolin added. “The combination with Automous gives us a much stronger technology platform for doing that.”