Subtrates of the future

Hans Kristian Westrum is CSO and founder of SoilSteam International, a Scandinavian company developing innovative technologies for substrate reuse and soil remediation. He has worked extensively with researchers and institutions across Europe to document the efficacy of steam-based soil disinfection as a sustainable alternative to excavation and landfill. Westrum has co-authored and supported field trials and third-party studies demonstrating how thermal treatment effectively neutralizes invasive plants, pathogens, and nematodes while preserving soil fertility. He has presented the technology at international conferences and is engaged in bridging applied research with practical deployment in agriculture, landscaping, and environmental restoration. His academic and professional focus is on scalable, science-based solutions that combine environmental impact reduction with circular economy principles in soil and substrate management.

Kyle Freedman is the global Market Segment Manager CEA and Jiffy Gel Product Manager for Jiffy Group responsible for providing technical guidance and support to Jiffy's global CEA customers and helping to drive market expansion. Kyle holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He earned his MSc. in International Agriculture Development from the University of California at Davis with a concentration in Horticulture and Agronomy where his research focused on climate-smart, small-scale postharvest processing systems of coffee in Honduras. He obtained a PhD in Horticultural Sciences from North Carolina State University where his research focused on the development of a new hydroponic grapevine production system called Precise Indoor Vine Conditioning (PIVC) in which young grapevines are conditioned with supplemental light to produce fruit in their first season of field transplanting. With 15+ years of experience, Kyle was previously a Sr. Project Management Specialist at RTI International prior to graduate school where he was a part of their global food security and agriculture team managing over $150 million in USAID and USDA development projects in East Africa and Southeast Asia.

Roel Janssen is Chief Business Development Manager at Eternal.ag. Before joining Eternal.ag, Roel served as Chief Business Officer at Planet Farms, a technology company that builds and operates fully autonomous vertical farms at scale. Prior to that, he spent 13 years at Signify (previously known as Philips Lighting), where in his latest role he was the Global Director for City Farming. Through his years at Signify and Planet Farms, Roel established himself as an industry expert in high tech horticulture and vertical farming and has been invited to speak and share his views around the globe. He has also served as a guest lecturer at the HAS University of Applied Science in the Netherlands. Roel holds a degree in Business Administration from Eindhoven, where he still lives with his wife and two children. Alongside his passion for sustainable agriculture, Roel is an avid wine enthusiast and holds a WSET Level 3 certification.

Dr. Sebastian Kipp is Director Innovation at Klasmann-Deilmann, where he focuses on driving sustainable growing media solutions for professional horticulture. He leads innovation initiatives related to renewable raw materials, growing media technologies, and climate-friendly cultivation systems. Dr. Kipp studied plant sciences and received his PhD from the Technical University of Munich, specializing in plant phenotyping and sensor-based technologies for crop research. Today, his work focuses on developing next-generation growing media, including innovative biochar solutions as well as peatreduced and peat-free substrates to support more sustainable and climate-resilient horticultural production.