The Pilots4U database allows the entrepreneur to look for pilot facilities close-by or for facilities specialised in certain bio-economy disciplines. This simplifies the scale-up of new bio-based processes, as it eliminates the hassle and stress of hardware investments and of finding staff with scale-up expertise at this stage of the process.
Shared investments
Worrying can be postponed until the process has been techno-economically proven at larger scale, when regulatory hurdles have been taken, the business case is largely de-risked, and a production facility has to be built. Open access pilot facilities can thus be regarded as shared investments in pilot equipment and expertise.
The Pilots4U database already contains 390 asset entries from 83 organisations in 19 countries and is growing week by week. The project has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. More information can be found on the Pilots4U website.