From seed to shelf · Norwegian cold plasma technology
What if fresh food protection started with air, water and electricity? Nitriva is developing cold plasma technology that makes functional water on site, for hygiene on packing lines today and plant nutrition next.
Activated by plasma. Powered by nature.
The problem
Nitriva Clean starts with fresh-produce packing lines: on-site hygiene chemistry made from air, water and electricity, applied at the wash stage.
NOK 184m
lost every year to post-harvest disease in Norway's stored carrots alone
58%
of stored carrots carried at least one post-harvest disease in a survey of 16 Norwegian cold stores
Source: Tadesse et al., 2023 (NIBIO), survey of 16 Norwegian commercial carrot stores.
Contamination in produce and wash water must be managed on every packing line.
Chlorine and other sanitisers are bought, shipped, stored and dosed.
Fungicide approvals are being withdrawn, with few replacements coming.
One crop, one country. Multiply across Europe's fresh-produce chain.
Application platforms
First market · Cold plasma-activated water for hygiene and sanitation.
We are exploring how cold plasma-activated water can support effective cleaning and sanitation processes in food production and industrial environments.
Research-funded · The same platform making nitrate from air for growers.
We are developing approaches to produce nitrate-enriched water using electricity, air and water, with the aim of supporting local, controlled plant nutrition.
Both are development areas. Performance in each application requires application-specific validation before commercial use. Nitriva Systems provides the equipment and integration platform behind both.
How it works
Cold plasma uses electrical energy to activate gases and initiate chemical reactions. Depending on the process, reactive species can be introduced into water to create properties relevant to sanitation or plant nutrition.
Air pathways · N₂ and O₂
Air is mainly nitrogen (N₂) and oxygen (O₂). Depending on the application, the process can activate air as a whole — letting nitrogen and oxygen react together — or guide nitrogen and oxygen along separate pathways for more selective chemistry.
Joint pathway
Air (N₂ + O₂) → cold plasma → combined reactive species
Nitrogen and oxygen are activated together, for example to form the nitrogen oxides that become nitrate in water.
Separate pathways
N₂ and O₂ → individually controlled activation
Nitrogen and oxygen streams are handled separately to steer which reactive species form and in what proportion.
Which configuration suits a given application is part of our development and validation work.
Ordinary tap water and ambient air. No delivered chemicals as input.
Nanosecond pulsed power creates a controlled cold plasma.
Water rich in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.
Wash produce, and treat and reuse process water, where it is made.
Made where it is used, on demand. The active species are short-lived and break down to water, oxygen and nitrate. The composition, stability and effectiveness of activated water depend on the process and application. These are central parts of our development and validation work. Clean and Grow use different process conditions and target different chemistry.
Operating evidence
Nitriva starts from SEID's industrial hardware, manufacturing and field service — not a lab bench.
13 L/min
cold plasma-activated water from tap water
300+ h
continuous reactor operation
Customer value
What a packing line aims to gain. These are the outcomes the research programme with BAMA and Gartnerhallen is measuring, not established results.
TodaySanitiser bought, shipped, stored and handled
NitrivaMade on demand from air, water and electricity
TodayWash water used once, then discharged
NitrivaWash water treated and reused
TodaySpoilage held back by the cold chain alone
NitrivaLower microbial load, longer shelf life
TodayChemical options keep shrinking
NitrivaFewer delivered chemicals, ready for tighter rules
Why on-site production?
These are hypotheses to be tested in each application, not established outcomes.
Explore producing functional chemistry closer to where it is used.
Develop systems around customer processes and practical operating needs.
Tailor production and water chemistry to defined applications.
Assess opportunities to reduce transport, storage and conventional chemical inputs.
First market
Clean is the first market because the buyer, the budget and the need are clear. Grow, research-funded today, uses the same cold plasma platform to make nitrate from air.
First buyer
Packing-line operators managing produce hygiene and wash water.
Buying decision
Operations and quality teams, supported by a site-level economic case.
Norway
Validate the first reference application
Nordics
Repeat a proven installation model
Europe
Develop equipment and service channels
Proposed market-entry sequence. Expansion follows technical and commercial validation.
Norwegian engineering heritage
Nitriva builds on cold plasma technology expertise originating from SEID in Norway. Nitriva is currently being established as a company wholly owned by SEID. Our focus is to translate that knowledge into dedicated applications, robust equipment and measurable customer value.
Since 1997
SEID cold plasma and pulsed-power development
30+
countries with SEID industrial installations
NOK 300m+
estimated cumulative investment in the wider SEID platform
Figures describe SEID's platform history and are company-reported. Nitriva's application validation is separate.
Development approach
Application definition
Laboratory validation
Pilot integration
Performance verification
Commercial scale-up
Illustrative development approach. Stages are not status indicators.
Partnership
We are looking for partners who bring real operating environments, clear application needs and the ambition to develop practical solutions together.
Define use cases and host application trials.
Support independent testing and technical development.
Support application development and commercialization.
Development partners
NIBIO, NOFIMA, Gartnerhallen and BAMA work with Nitriva as development partners, anchored in Norway's bioeconomy and food research, plant-production knowledge and fresh-produce value chain.
Funded research programme
A NOK 10m+ Research Council of Norway programme, running for 36 months, validates the technology with Norway's fresh-produce value chain.
Food research
Shelf life and food quality
Bioeconomy research
Crop and greenhouse trials
Fresh-produce distribution
Packing lines and produce-chain validation
Grower cooperative
1,000+ member growers, pilot sites
Company background
Nitriva has been developed as a stealth project within SEID since 2021, supported by SEID’s internal funding, engineering resources and technology infrastructure.
Following the recent decision to spin it out, we are now preparing to raise external capital to establish the independent company, validate customer applications and accelerate commercialisation.
Nitriva is built by a team with long experience across technology development, commercialisation and the markets we aim to serve — combining engineering depth with practical understanding of what it takes to bring new industrial technology into use.
Hands-on experience taking cold plasma technology from laboratory research toward robust, application-ready systems.
A track record of turning deep-tech development into products, partnerships and revenue in industrial markets.
Close knowledge of the food, hygiene and agriculture value chains Nitriva aims to serve, built through years of work in and around them.
Contact
Tell us about your operating environment and the challenge you want to address. We read every enquiry.
Address
Nitriva Technologies AS
A spin-out from SEID AS, under formation and currently wholly owned by SEID.
Bedriftsveien 25
