Webinar delved into mastering the art of scale-up

Scaling bio-based technologies from the lab to pilot production often entails technical, operational, and regulatory hurdles. The FinnCERES webinar focused on tackling these critical issues.

On November 28th, 2025, FinnCERES hosted a webinar titled "Scaling Success: Essential Elements of Effective Piloting", which delved into transitioning bio-based technologies from laboratory research towards industrial production. Esthèle Goure, business development manager at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Belgium, and Rajesh Koppolu, senior scientist at VTT, offered an in-depth look at what it takes to move a bioprocess from the lab toward commercial readiness.

The webinar attracted a diverse, international audience, beyond the FinnCERES community and sparked engaging discussions. Exchanging insights from piloting experiences is tremendously beneficial, as it guides early-stage researchers to consider elements like online monitoring and process control, continuous unit operations and safety, helping to mitigate or reduce potential scale-up challenges.

The discussion particularly highlighted how for an effective scale up of research from laboratory to pilot and beyond, it is pivotal to first have access to robust and reliable piloting infrastructures, as well as relevant experts. Overall, successful piloting relies on four key elements:

• strong infrastructure

• adequate funding (including industrial partnership and public fundings)

• continuous innovation

• timely regulatory preparation.

The webinar was particularly timely, aligning with the release of the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy, in which scaling innovation and investments is one of the main pillars. The EU bioeconomy strategy aims to remove existing barriers and addresses the "Valleys of Death" on the path from laboratory discovery to market deployment.

As the year comes to an end, we look forward organizing more events and opportunities to unite the bio-based materials scientific community, fueling discussions that pave the way for a more sustainable future.