How ThingLink is Transforming Training Across the Energy Sector

Kyla Ball October 15, 2025

From transmission network operators in Finland to a renewables training academy in Scotland, manufacturers in the U.S., and global industrial leaders, ThingLink is helping energy organizations enhance safety, streamline training, and engage employees and customers.

These case studies highlight how a diverse range of energy sector organizations are using interactive 360° and VR experiences to train staff, onboard teams, and showcase complex facilities, demonstrating the versatility and global impact of ThingLink across the energy industry.

1. Fingrid’s Power Station Virtual Safety Briefings

Fingrid is responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted transmission of electricity across Finland’s national grid. Electricity producers, industrial plants, and distribution networks are all connected to its nationwide infrastructure.

Challenge:
Traditionally, Fingrid’s safety briefings were delivered face-to-face at all their power stations across Finland. During onboarding, trainers and new employees often had to travel hundreds of miles to attend induction sessions.

Solution:
Fingrid used ThingLink to create over 130 virtual safety briefings, giving employees on-demand access to facility safety instructions. The interiors and exteriors of all 130 substations were photographed in 360°, and Fingrid’s team used these images to build interactive virtual tours.

“ThingLink has been perceived as a very good tool – a modern-day application that improves safety and significantly clarifies moving around electricity stations.”

Veijo Siiankoski, Fingrid

Read the full case study here: How to Create Virtual Safety Briefings

2. The Energy Training Academy‘s Virtual Tour

The Energy Training Academy (ETA) provides training courses in gas and renewable heating technologies. Its state-of-the-art facility includes the Net Zero Home, where technologies are demonstrated in situ.

Challenge:
The industry faced a sharp decline in young engineers, with only 6% of gas heating engineers in Scotland aged under 35. Without urgent action, these numbers risked reaching critical levels. ETA also recognised that rapid developments in renewable technologies required frequent refresher training for both new and experienced engineers. With new products and systems emerging so quickly, traditional training materials often became outdated soon after publication.

Solution:
ETA created a 360° virtual tour of its facilities in ThingLink to encourage school and industry visits, both real and virtual, and to serve as a marketing tool for its training courses. The tour has since been expanded to include training suites and product demonstrations.

Benefits:

• Promotes ETA as a cutting-edge training provider
• Encourages collaboration across the industry
• Helps trainees prepare for visits by checking accessibility and parking in advance

It is also easy to update as the facility evolves over time.

Read the full case study here: Virtual Tour of Facilities Brings Learners to the Energy Training Academy

3. Mitsubishi Electric UK‘s VR Training

Founded over a century ago, Mitsubishi Electric is a global leader in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) innovation. The first UK office opened in 1969, and since then Mitsubishi Electric UK (MEUK) has been at the forefront of developing advanced solutions for homes and businesses.

Challenges:
MEUK operated only two training centres in the UK, meaning training often required costly overnight stays. Trainer availability was limited, leading to frequent scheduling delays.

Solution:
The training team created new immersive content in ThingLink for use in virtual reality, accessible via Meta Quest 3 headsets. The VR training was designed for both employees and external customers and delivered as multi-session courses.

Results and Benefits:

• Significant cost savings on accommodation and travel, reducing MEUK’s carbon footprint
• Annual savings of £119,350 on printed materials and £92,520 on catering – a total of £220,970
• An estimated 462,600 travel miles saved
• A more engaging learning experience: 99% of attendees said they would recommend it
• Training materials now easily shared and replicated across global locations for further efficiency gains

Read the full case study here: How Mitsubishi Electric is Creating Innovative VR Training with ThingLink

4. Norelco’s Virtual Learning Environments

Norelco is a Finnish manufacturer of electricity distribution systems, founded in 1962. The company designs and produces solutions for the energy, industrial, and construction sectors and employs 230 people across three factories in Finland.

Challenge:
In-person training lacked standardization, with methods varying between trainers. During group sessions, many trainees couldn’t clearly observe each work step, and without repeated demonstrations, they struggled to recall or visualize the full process.

Solution:
Norelco created a virtual learning environment using ThingLink to support site orientations and training. Work steps and videos were embedded into easy-to-follow, interactive modules. The program is delivered annually to 40–50 employees as well as student trainees still in college.

Benefits:

• Standardized and streamlined training for both trainers and new employees
• Centralized, structured access to all relevant information
• Enables remote and self-paced learning
• Allows staff to revisit work steps at any time, even on the job
• Embedded info tags provide quick access to manuals and additional materials

“The learning environment makes it possible to start learning the profession faster than before, when you can watch the material even if the guide is not there. The learning curve at the beginning is steeper than before.”

Ari Hämäläinen, Norelco

“We operate in both Finnish and English. The great thing about ThingLink is that it allows us to automatically translate text into many different languages.”

Jarkko Paappanen, Production Supervisor Norelco

Read the full case study here: How to Add Virtual Learning Environments into An Employee Training Program

5. KAESER‘s Virtual Enclosures and Compressor Interiors

KAESER Compressors (USA) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and providers of compressed air products and services.

Challenge:
Because of the size and customization of KAESER enclosures, customers often found it difficult to visualize the final product.

Solution:
KAESER now creates virtual 360° tours of its bespoke enclosures in ThingLink for customers who cannot visit the site in person. To date, around 30 unique visualizations have been produced. The company also creates interactive 360° tours of compressor interiors for staff training and customer demonstrations.

Benefits:

• Ideal for training sales staff who have not yet visited the headquarters
• Used at trade shows and events to demonstrate customized solutions, with high visitor engagement reported
• Embedded in the company website and shared on social media, delivering significantly higher engagement than standard posts

“ThingLink has been a great tool because our products aren’t available for prospects to view in person outside of trade shows. The content is easy to create and easy to use.”

KAESER

Read the full case study here: KAESER’s 360° Virtual Tours Provide a Unique Way for Customers to Explore Products Remotely

6. Vaisala‘s Virtual Campus and R&D Center

Vaisala is a global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurement, operating in every country on Earth – and even on Mars. The company employs over 2,200 people across 25 offices worldwide.

Challenge:
Vaisala needed to engage and attract top new talent, onboard global teams efficiently, and showcase daily life at its unique headquarters campus.

Solution:
Vaisala created a 360° virtual tour of its R&D and Innovation Center in ThingLink. The tour features “day in the life” video clips from employees and is used to attract new global talent, enhance onboarding, and demonstrate the company’s full scope of operations to customers and partners. It also helps employees at regional offices experience daily life at headquarters.

Results/Benefits:
External:

• +30% increase in views, +50% increase in reactions, and 10× more shares on social media
• An invaluable tool for sales teams and trade shows

Internal: Improved employee engagement across global offices

Read the full case study here: How Vaisala is Attracting a New Generation of Talent With Virtual Tours of Their Extraordinary Campus

7. Stora Enso‘s Immersive VR Safety Training

Stora Enso is one of the world’s oldest companies, with roots dating back to the 13th century. Today, it employs more than 22,000 people across the globe. Headquartered in Finland and Sweden, Stora Enso develops renewable products based on wood and biomass for a wide range of industries and applications.

Challenge:
The company needed safety training that was realistic, engaging, and accessible for 22,000 employees across multilingual global sites.

Solution:
3D Talo developed VR simulation training for Meta Quest headsets, while ThingLink created the training modules on headset use, VR navigation, and post-training interactive tests. Multilingual versions were produced to support Stora Enso’s global workforce.

Benefits:

• Higher engagement, knowledge retention, and completion rates
• Greater accessibility for all employees
• Scalable and flexible training across multiple regions
• Reusable content leading to significant cost savings

“Using a combination of real-life 360 and 3D content with interactive simulation scenarios, ThingLink and 3D Talo have developed much more realistic training materials than our employees have seen before. Because we now have training in 11 languages, we’re able to let employees in all our global locations experience what it feels like to operate the forklift – without putting anyone in danger. Employees enjoy the training, and that’s reflected in higher engagement and completion rates.”

Jolanta, Safety Manager, Stora Enso

Read the full case study here: Innovative VR Safety Training at Stora Enso with ThingLink and Meta Quest