ARTICLES
Updates and reports
Last News
April 2025
First youth engaged with Sylva
Sylva has been working with the municipality to establish internship and apprenticeship opportunities for young people. In April, the first program was launched, and with great enthusiasm, we welcomed a young and promising individual to the team. The plan is for them to participate in renovation and construction projects, gaining valuable hands-on experience. We at Sylva are especially excited about this!
January 2025
Sylva Hires Eivind Halvorsen
Sylva is excited to announce that Eivind Halvorsen has signed a contract with us. Eivind has extensive experience in the construction industry and has run his own business. He holds a master craftsman certificate and will be employed as a skilled tradesman at Sylva. His main responsibility will be renovating the buildings, but he will also take on other tasks. In addition, Eivind is a farmer, making him an excellent fit for Sylva!
December 2024
Major Collaboration Agreement Secured
A collaboration agreement for Vestby’s most important forest area has been established between Sylva, Vestby Hiking Association, Vestby Historical Society, and the Follo-Moss Nature Conservation Association. Sylva will facilitate making Sylvaskogen and the surrounding area of Hauger Farm accessible to everyone who loves nature, outdoor activities, and local history. Sylva will provide office facilities for the partners and ensure that forest roads are maintained for easy access.
Sylva and the Nature Conservation Association will jointly develop a plan to convert parts of the forest into natural forest, focusing on biodiversity and rewilding initiatives.
The Hiking Association will be responsible for maintaining hiking trails, managing campsites, and installing information boards. These boards will provide information about the climate and nature crises, cultural and historical sites in the area, as well as the local plant and animal life. All partners will contribute to the content.
The Historical Society and the Hiking Association will collaborate to make cultural heritage sites and ancient monuments accessible for all interested visitors and hikers to enjoy.
October 2024
Sylva’s application for a concession was rejected by the County Governor
After acquiring Hauger Farm, Sylva applied for a concession for the property. Given the activities Sylva plans to carry out related to carbon capture, research, development, and piloting new methods for the future of forestry and agriculture aimed at addressing the climate and biodiversity crises, we were extremely disappointed to receive a rejection of the concession. However, we are not giving up and have appealed the decision! We remain hopeful that the situation will be resolved and will continue developing Sylva with undiminished determination.
May 2024
Birgitte Horve joins the team
Sylva is expanding its team! We’re excited to announce that Birgitte Horve is joining Sylva as Head of Property, Finance, and Administration. Birgitte brings extensive experience from both administrative and commercial roles, including previous experience in company development.
May 2024
Sylva buys Hauger Farm
This is a milestone day for Sylva and a key step in our plan for large-scale carbon capture. Hauger Farm in Vestby covers just under 300 acres of farmland and about 3,000 acres of forest. It is situated in beautiful surroundings with hiking trails and close proximity to the sea. Agriculture has been practiced here since as far back as the 1300s.
This will become Sylva’s headquarters, where operations related to carbon capture, forestry, and FoU connected to agriculture and forestry will be managed. Sylva has big plans for Hauger Farm and the surrounding area, aiming to create a gathering place full of life and activity.
January 2024
Woodstore is awarded funding through Skattefunn
At the end of December 2023, Sylva received the exciting news from the Research Council that funding for Woodstore had been approved through Skattefunn. Skattefunn stands for “Tax deduction for Research and Development in Innovative Businesses.” Sylva aims to be innovative in the business sector, so receiving this grant is very rewarding. The Skattefunn funds are especially helpful as they will be used to purchase equipment for gas measurements as well as consulting and advisory services from experts. Skattefunn makes it much more feasible to carry out Woodstore the way Sylva envisions.
November 2023
Woodstore Pilot 1 Completed
The first Woodstore project was completed in October 2023, and the initial data is now available. In this pilot, 502 tons of clean residual biomass were placed for carbon storage on one of Sylva’s forest plots. The biomass mainly consisted of roots from a clear-cut area that was converted into new land for fruit production. Since the biomass had no alternative use other than possible burning, it was classified as residual biomass and could therefore be included in a carbon capture project. Today, fruit trees, grapevines, strawberries, and cover crops are planted on top of the carbon chamber.
Preliminary figures tell us: The biomass corresponds to 610 tons of stored CO2 equivalents (CO2e). The emissions generated to create this amount are just under 20 tons of CO2. This includes all diesel consumption for logging, excavation, as well as transportation of machinery and materials. This results in a factor of over 30! For every ton of CO2 stored, only slightly more than 30 kilograms of CO2 are emitted.
What remains? Now the data collection begins according to the MRV report (monitoring, reporting, verification) we are preparing. We will measure gas concentrations inside the chamber and gas fluxes above it. Based on this, we will be able to calculate the decomposition curves and estimate how much CO2 equivalent is released over a 100-year period, as well as how much of the biomass remains intact. Then, we can finalize the life cycle analysis (LCA) and certify the carbon credits through Puro.earth.
