A network of bioeconomy open access pilot and multipurpose demo facilities (PILOTS4U)

Funded by:

Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBIJU)

Time period:

1 June 2017 – 1 September 2019 (Funded by BBIJU)

1 September 2019 – 1 October 2020 (self-fund)
 

Project partners:

Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (Belgium)

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland)

KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden)

Swansea University (UK), Ghent University (Belgium)

NNFCC (UK)

Background

One of the main challenges in the rapidly evolving bio-economy is to bring the newly developed molecules and techniques from the lab to the market. Innovation progresses along the stages of the ‘innovation chain’: discovery (research) - technology development (piloting) – first production (demo) – market introduction (deployment). The main bottleneck in the innovation chain of the bio-based economy today is the step from technology development to deployment. This step has to be performed first in a pilot plant and later in a demonstration plant where a production process can be tested and optimized in industrial production setting. Pilot- and demo-plants are expensive industrial installations that require specific expertise to be run and most SMEs and also a lot of large companies have no direct access to such facilities. As a result promising innovation processes grind to a halt.

Aim and objectives

The development of a thriving bio-economy is vital in achieving a resource-efficient and sustainable economy. One of the main challenges in the bio-economy innovation chain in Europe today is the step from technology to deployment. In most cases, it can be addressed through access to pilot- and demo plants which are expensive industrial installations that most companies do not have direct access to. One solution is the ‘open access pilot- and multipurpose demo-infrastructures’. However, lack of awareness of the availability as well as type of facility and offered equipment impedes actors from localizing relevant facility.

To tackle this issue, Pilots4U set up an easily accessible database containing all existing European open access pilot and demo-infrastructures for the bio-economy. This network was built on six of the partners' existing bio-economy pilot or multipurpose demo-infrastructure networks, SmartPilots (Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant), ERIFORE (VTT), BRISKII (Royal Institute of Technology KTH), Enalgae (Swansea University), Biorefine Cluster Europe (Ghent University) and BioPilotsUK (NNFCC as secretary of the initiative). All facilities included in the database are open to any start-up, small, medium or large enterprise looking for equipment and expertise to translate an innovative lab scale process into a viable industrial process.

Database is continuously updated and expanding with the aim to map all existing facilities relevant with regard to the topic (technology scope) and the Technology Readiness Level.

Are you looking for a partner to scale-up your innovative process? Click here .

Are you an asset owner who would like to join Pilots4U database and network? Click here.

Project contact persons

BRISK II Project Coordinator , Responsible for Thermochemical Conversion Sector

BRISK II Project Coordinator, Responsible for Thermochemical Conversion Sector