News and Blog

At SoilSteam, our focus is on one thing: soil health.

We believe in a better way to keep soil healthy. We know that if we can restore health to our soils, we are restoring our soils to health. In less than 20 years, SoilSteam has evolved from a hobby project devised to satisfy the curiosity of three Norwegian farmers, into the professional technology company it is today. We are still a small Norwegian company, but we know we can contribute to make the world a better place.

Join us in our journey through our news releases and blogs;

SoilSteam appoints European innovation expert as new board chair

Over a number of years, The Norwegian company SoilSteam has perfected the solution to one of the world’s most urgent problems: the […]

Posts

04/06/2023, Hans Kristian Westrum

SoilSteam appoints European innovation expert as new board chair

Over a number of years, The Norwegian company SoilSteam has perfected the solution to one of the world’s most urgent problems: the […]

17/04/2023, Agricultural Post

How to get rid of Japanese knotweed

Described by many as a “hated”, “repudiated” and “undesirable” plant, it seems far-fetched to think that one of the world’s most problematic […]

27/12/2022, Hans Kristian Westrum

Annual summary 2022: From start-up to growth company – our first commercial sales and preparations for series production

The year 2022 has been very eventful for Soil Steam. We are well on our way to becoming a world-leading company in […]

01/12/2022, Hans Kristian Westrum

The fight against invasive alien species

SoilSteam is working actively with academia to understand how to fight alien invasive plants that create a large threat to many EU […]

07/06/2022, Hans Kristian Westrum

Food safety

At Soil Steam International, we replace herbicides and pesticides with pure steam, distributing that steam in the soil to reduce weeds, pests […]

17/02/2022, Hans Kristian Westrum

What happens when we steam the soil?

A lot of different organisms live in the soil – everything from single-celled animals and microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi and viruses, […]

24/01/2022, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil Steam goes to Spain

When winter came to Norway, we travelled to warmer regions. We loaded our machine onto a truck and drove to Spain. There, […]

23/12/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

2021 – a summary

2021 has been an incredible year. Our company has grown by more than 100%, and our team now comprises 16 people, with […]

05/12/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

World Soil Day 2021

Do you know what day it is today, the 5th December ? Yes, it is the second Sunday in advent, but it […]

04/11/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil – a valuable asset

Maybe you had to read that sentence twice? It sounds dramatic, but the truth is that, if the world continues to waste […]

30/09/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

2021 – So far

After 4 months in our new offices in Sandefjord, daily routines have begun to settle down. The coffee machine is diligently used, […]

12/04/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

We’re Growing…Join Our Team!

we are hiring!

29/01/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

Our company

Meet Our New Board Member: Anita Krohn Traaseth

Anita Traaseth becomes board member in Soil Steam International AS!

20/01/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

Oversubscribed! Rights Issue A Sell-Out

One of Norway’s leading investment houses, Canica, has taken the lead in SoilSteam’s recent NOK45M (US$5.3m) rights issue, picking up an investment […]

06/01/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

European Investment Bank publishes an article about Soil Steam International.

Today The European Investment Bank published an article about Soil Steam International. https://www.eib.org/en/stories/organic-farming-technology @EIBInstitute and #SITAlumni

04/01/2021, Hans Kristian Westrum

Welcome Soilsteam’s New CEO

As of 1 January 2021, Oddbjørn Bergem joins SoilSteam International as CEO. For more than three decades Oddbjørn has been immersed in […]

26/12/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

2020: The Year In Review

As we reach the end of the year, it’s always good to look back at where we’ve been and what we’ve achieved […]

14/12/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil Steam International has received a NOK 9 Mill funding from Forskningsrådet

Soil Steam International AS is going to cooperate with @Nibio, @Toten Løkpakkeri, @Larvik Løk, @Lindum, @NMBU and @Statens Vegvesen in a project […]

08/12/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil Steam International AS is a finalist in the top 500 foodtech list!

We are thrilled to announce that Soil Steam International has been selected as a finalist for this year’s @ForwardFooding #FoodTech500, the world’s first definitive […]

05/12/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soilprep2020 has been awarded the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label.

Following the success of the first solar flight around the world, Bertrand Piccard and the Solar Impulse Foundation has launched the second […]

18/11/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil Steam International is expanding from 2 to 10 employees during Corona pandemic

In the beginning of 2020, there was 1 person full time and 1 person working 80% in Soil Steam International. Since we […]

22/10/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

The importance of a strong board of directors

When Soil Steam International AS was established in 2016 all the founders were members of the board. The board was both a […]

16/09/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil Steam trials at Nibio in Norway (photo: Soilsteam.com)

Documentation of our technology

Soil Steam International AS is one of the first companies in the world which develops equipment for pasteurizing soil and therefore fight […]

03/08/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Customer testimonial

Last year we treated a carrot field in Arendal which had nematode problems. After harvesting this year, you can read the statement […]

13/07/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

New great results and documentation on our technology

Last fall we were steaming to the carrot producer Øystein Fredriksen at Tromøya in Norway. Because of limitation in available soil, it […]

17/06/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil Steam selected to the top 50 impact companies in the Nordics.

We have been selected Nordic Top 50 Impact Companies by @The One Initiative as one of the 50 most promising impact startups […]

20/05/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Soil Steam International AS is opening in California

Wow. This is a big milestone in the Soil Steam history. We have been working closely with Ph. D. Steven Fennimore from […]

15/04/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

FAO: Healthy soil provide the largest store of carbon on earth..

http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/39058c2c-991b-4a24-a0bd-ccd0544e8320/?utm_content=buffer1efe3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer In the fall of 2018, we were contacted by Nibio and asked if it was possible to use our technology to […]

08/04/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

New website, new logo and blog!

New logo, new website and blog! Happy easter!

23/02/2020, Hans Kristian Westrum

Visite Ph. D. Steven Fennimore and partners in California

USA journey 2020. It feels fantastic to visite California and meet some of the biggest companies in the world and the berry industry that needs our technology.

08/12/2019, Hans Kristian Westrum

SSI invited to keep a presentation on Agciscape in Abu Dhabi

SSI invited as 1 out of 3 European Agri tech start ups for presenting in Abu Dhabi agriculture conference.

08/11/2019, Hans Kristian Westrum

Winner of Innovation Price Norsk Avfall

SSI wins new price for the new stationary machine we are developing!

19/09/2019, Hans Kristian Westrum

NRK with article about SSI will save the soil in the world..

Article about SSI at NRK..

08/02/2019, Hans Kristian Westrum

8 founders become 7

There were 8 people all together that started Soil Steam International in February 2016. All men. When so many different personalities work very close and very much together there will be conflicts…

08/12/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

Winner of European Venture Contest in Dusseldorf

SoilSteam is winner of European Venture Contest!..

30/11/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

Winner of Gründerprisen i Vestfold

SSI are winning the startup prize in Vestfold. It is a great pleasure..

07/11/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

Landtek October 2018

Soil Steam is prested at Landtek 2018.

26/10/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

World AgriTech in London

Soil Steam on the stage talking about future agriculture during World Agri-Tech in London..

08/10/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

New challenge for Soil Steam International AS

Can the technology from Soilsteam help big companies like Vegvesenet and Banenor?

07/10/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

Meeting with the Minister og agriculture

Today we had a meeting with the Norwegian minister og agriculture to discuss sustainable agriculture..

07/09/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

Knaskerøtter improves harvest by 44%

Knaskerøtter improves harvest by 44% on the steamed soil!!

07/08/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

Summer 2018 First Investors

Read what happened when Trond Riiber Knudsen and some other investors joined SSI…

17/07/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

No weed and larger harvest at Lier Grønt!

Here you can see pictures from Lier Grønt were we steamed the soil this spring. You can clearly see the difference between the steamed and the not steamed soil

12/06/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

June 2018 European Venture Contest Viborg

In the same time as my colleagues are working in the field I got an invitation to a contest in Viborg. It is a contest where European investors are seeking the most promising start ups in Europe.

07/05/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

May 2018 – FAO (UN) soil conference in Rome

A small start up company is inivted to keep a speach in FAO… Read more about it here..

07/03/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

USA trip to visite Professor Fennimore and his partners

It is a big moment for us to be invited to meet some of the biggest berry growers in the world. Read more about our trip here..

02/02/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

Winner of Landbrukets Innovasjonspris 2017, january 2018

It is a great recognition for the work we have done when we now first were nominated and then later won this price.

07/01/2018, Hans Kristian Westrum

New spesialist involves in Soil Steam..

Do you remember we wrote about the cybernetic company Idcon and Cornelis Arnoldussen? He is responsible for the technology including AI and data collection of our machines

20/12/2017, Hans Kristian Westrum

Seal of Excelence from Horizon (EU)

Horizon is the name of the biggest EU contribution for European companies. This is a place where good ideas can get money for development of their great ideas. It is several thousand companies and ideas that competes for this funding. It is extremely difficult to get funding, but the best ones get up to EUR 2,5 million.

07/12/2017, Hans Kristian Westrum

Winner of Innovation Prize Sandefjord

In the end of 2017 we won an other prize for our work. Sandefjord Nærginslivsforening has chosen us as the winner ot his year innovation prize in competition with great innovative companies such as Jotun and Grans. We are very humble and honored. Thank you!

02/11/2017, Hans Kristian Westrum

Visit from Ph. D. Steven Fennimore from UC Davis, California.

The demonstration that we did in both Norway and Germany during the summer of 2017 showed that we still had some way to go, but in the same time we were capable of getting the steam deep enough in the soil and faster and more effective than anyone else.

17/07/2017, Hans Kristian Westrum

16 july 2017: Soilprep400 in Germany

Soilprep400 is a big machine and we have already seen that it probably is too big (Even the people which came from USA to watch our equipment in Germany thought it was too small !!).

20/05/2017, Hans Kristian Westrum

May 2017: Soilprep400 in the field at Knaskerøtter.

After several thousand hours of work in 4 months, a tired soil steam team is ready to start testing with Tor Fuglestein and Knaskerøtter in Kvelde, Norway.

11/04/2017, Hans Kristian Westrum

Building of the soilprep400 automatic soil steamer

Our market research was that we knew from year of experience from the farmers that there was a need and a wish from the farmers to be able to control weeds, fungi and nematodes in the soil by other solutions than chemicals.

16/01/2017, Hans Kristian Westrum

Introduced to Idcon and Mr. Cornelis Arnoldussen

When you build a complete machine from the bottom you need several different people involved. You need the economics in order to figure out how much and where to get the money.

23/02/2016, Hans Kristian Westrum

23.02.2016 – Registration of the company

Today Soil Steam International AS is registered. It has been a long journey before we got here, but now we were finally here and ready to register the company

14/10/2015, Hans Kristian Westrum

Fall 2015

Hans Kristian called up Arvid and Olav the morning after the conversation with Eva-Lena.

08/06/2015, Hans Kristian Westrum

The paradoxes in life

In the fall 2015 Hans Kristian Westrum and his wife Eva-Lena are talking about the paradoxes in life. Her father is about to retire, and he is one of the best welders in Sweden, Responsible for the work on welding in companies like Rolls Royce etc.

07/04/2015, Hans Kristian Westrum

The history behind Soil Steam International AS

Even though Soil Steam International AS was established in February 2016, this story starts a long time before that. Kjell Westrum, Arvid Laksesvela and Olav Wirgenes were all farmers and were running their own farms.