Soil Steam International AS
| Private (AS) | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Agricultural technology, Environmental technology, Cleantech |
| Founded 📆 | 2016 |
| Founder 👔 | |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | Stokke, Vestfold, Norway |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | SoilSaver 5™, SoilSaver 20™, FieldSaver™ |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | soilsteam |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Soil Steam International AS is a Norwegian technology company headquartered in Stokke, Vestfold, Norway, that develops and manufactures steam-based soil sterilization equipment. The company's machines treat biologically contaminated soil and growing media with pressurised steam, eliminating pathogens, weeds, invasive alien species, and soilborne pests like potato cyst nematode without chemical fumigants.[1][2] The company was formally incorporated in 2016.[3]
Soil Steam International operate currently in two primary market segments: environmental remediation of soil contaminated with invasive alien species on construction and infrastructure projects, and sustainable substrate recycling for professional horticulture and indoor food production.[4]
History
The technology originated in 1995 when Kjell Westrum, a farmer in southern Norway, began experimenting with steam as an alternative to pesticides and fungicides. Working alongside fellow farmers Olav Wirgenes and Arvid Laksesvela, Westrum developed an early steam-based prototype for disinfecting soil.[3]
In 2015, Hans Kristian Westrum, Kjell Westrum's son, decided to develop the concept into a commercial product. With the agreement of his father's collaborators, he assembled an engineering team and formally registered Soil Steam International AS in 2016.[3]
The European Investment Bank featured Soil Steam International in 2020 as an example of European clean technology innovation.[5] The same year, the company was included in the Forward Fooding FoodTech 500, an annual index of food and agricultural technology companies.[6]
The company has received investment from Canica, the Research Council of Norway (Forskningsrådet), EIT Climate-KIC, Grofondet, and TRK Group.[7][8]
The company experienced a breakthrough in 2025 where the SoilSaver 20™ was used in projects for both Norwegian Public Roads Administration and the Swedish Transport Administration[9][10].
Technology
Soil Steam International's treatment process applies water vapour at high temperature to soil or substrate in a continuous industrial process. The heat denatures proteins in weed seeds, rhizome fragments, fungal spores, and pest organisms, rendering them non-viable, known better as soil steam sterilization. The process leaves no chemical residue; treated material can be used as soon as it cools to ambient temperature.[11]
The technology has been the subject of peer-reviewed research in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) and Karlstad University.
Products
SoilSaver 5™
The SoilSaver 5™ is a mobile soil and substrate treatment unit with a processing capacity of approximately 5 metric tons per hour, designed for on-site treatment of excavated contaminated soil and used growing substrate.[2]
SoilSaver 20™
The SoilSaver 20™ is a larger treatment unit with a capacity of approximately 20 metric tons per hour, intended for high-volume applications on large infrastructure projects or centralised substrate treatment facilities.[2]
FieldSaver™
The FieldSaver™ is a machine designed for in-field soil disinfection before planting or sowing, applying steam directly to the ground surface without excavation.[2] The machine is not commercially available.
Applications
Invasive alien species management
Construction and infrastructure projects in Norway and other European countries face regulatory requirements to prevent the spread of invasive alien species present in excavated soil. Soil steaming enables on-site treatment, allowing treated soil to be reused on the same project.[1][4] Business Norway has highlighted the approach as an alternative to transporting contaminated soil to licensed landfill facilities.[1]
Substrate recycling in horticulture
Professional growers use large volumes of peat- or compost-based growing substrate that is typically discarded after one or two growing seasons. Steam treatment of used substrate can eliminate soilborne pathogens and weed seeds, making the material suitable for reuse.[4][12]
Scientific research
Research conducted in collaboration with NIBIO and Karlstad University has produced peer-reviewed findings on the efficacy of steam treatment against invasive alien plant species.
A 2021 study in Invasive Plant Science and Management evaluated stationary soil steaming for treating soil before relocation on infrastructure projects, finding it effective at preventing spread of invasive plant propagules.[13]
Two studies published in Pest Management Science in 2024 and 2025 examined the effect of exposure method and soil type on steam treatment efficacy, establishing temperature and duration parameters for control of several invasive species including Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), and bigleaf lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus).[11][14] Bigleaf lupine seeds were identified as the most heat-resistant of the species tested, requiring approximately 105 °C for 90% eradication (ED90), while other species had ED90 values between 67 and 77 °C.[11][15]
Recognition
Soil Steam International has been featured in coverage by the European Investment Bank (2020),[5] by Computer Weekly in coverage of Norwegian agritech,[16] and by trade publication HortiDaily in multiple articles covering the company's substrate steaming technology.[12]
Avfallsbransjen.no, a Norwegian trade news website on waste management, also published an article concerning the sale of a SoilSaver 20™ to Vestnes Renovasjon, a landfill[17]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Soil Steam removes invasive species from soil using steam". Business Norway. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Products". Soil Steam International. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The history behind Soil Steam International AS". Soil Steam International. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Soil Steam replaces pesticides with steam and increases harvests". Business Norway. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Changing farming from the ground up and killing weeds organically". European Investment Bank. 2020. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ "Soil Steam International". Forward Fooding. 2020. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ "Soil Steam to raise NOK 45M from Canica". Nordic 9. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ "SOIL STEAM INTERNATIONAL AS - Org.nr. 916 876 270 - Stokke - Roller". www.proff.no (in norsk). Retrieved 2026-05-08.
- ↑ "Rykende ferskt nytt fra Jevnaker: dampet jord ivaretar biologisk mangfold!". Statens vegvesen (in norsk bokmål). 2025-05-27. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
- ↑ Trafikverket (2021-09-28). "Ny metod testas för att stoppa spridning av invasiva växter". Trafikverket (in svenska). Retrieved 2026-05-08.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Bitarafan, Z.; et al. (2024). "Steaming soil is effective in eliminating invasive alien plants (IAPs) – part I: effect of exposure method". Pest Management Science. 81 (4): 2032–2039. doi:10.1002/ps.8603. PMC 11906916 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 39668134 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Some growers don't want to wait – they want the machines now". HortiDaily. 2025. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ Bitarafan, Zahra; Kaczmarek-Derda, Wiktoria; Brandsæter, Lars Olav; Fløistad, Inger Sundheim (2021). "Stationary soil steaming to combat invasive plant species for soil relocation". Invasive Plant Science and Management. Cambridge University Press. 14 (3): 164–171. Bibcode:2021IPSM...14..164B. doi:10.1017/inp.2021.25.
- ↑ Bitarafan, Z.; et al. (2025). "Steaming soil is effective in eliminating invasive alien plants (IAPs) – part II: effect of soil type". Pest Management Science. 81 (9): 5543–5550. Bibcode:2025PMSci..81.5543B. doi:10.1002/ps.8903. PMC 12332112 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 40371662 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Blomqvist, Elin L.; Orlikowska, Ewa H.; Paikert, Hanna; Eckstein, R. Lutz (June 2024). "The effects of dry heat and steam on germination of dry and imbibed seeds of the invasive garden lupine ( Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.)". Invasive Plant Science and Management. 17 (2): 95–103. Bibcode:2024IPSM...17...95B. doi:10.1017/inp.2024.14. ISSN 1939-7291.
- ↑ "Norway's agritech innovators are ready to expand to pastures new". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ↑ Paulsen, Øyvind (2026-04-30). "Vestnes Renovasjon blir først i Norge". Avfallsbransjen.no (in norsk bokmål). Retrieved 2026-05-08.
External links
References
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