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Scaling
bio-based
innovation

Open-access pilot-scale infrastructure supporting the
transition from lab-scale innovation to pre-commercial
deployment.

Explore Our Capabilities
Work With Us

25–3,000L

Bioreactor capacity

TRL 4→8

Scale-up range

Who We Are

Ireland's first dedicated biorefinery pilot plant

The National Biorefinery Pilot Plant (NBPP) is Ireland’s first
dedicated open-access and integrated bio-based product
and process scale-up facility. It supports the progression of
bio-based innovations from lab-scale validation to pilot-scale
demonstration and pre-commercial deployment.

Open-Access Infrastructure

Available to SMEs, startups, researchers and established industry partners.

Integrated Processing

End-to-end bioprocessing from pre-treatment through to downstream recovery.

Industry-Led Partnerships

Flexible engagement models tailored to your innovation stage and needs.

Scale-Up Pathway

From lab to market

Lab-Scale

TRL 4

Pilot-Scale

TRL 5-7

Pre-Commercial

TRL 8

01

Pre-treatment & Upstream

Conversion of agri-food by-products and
biomass into fermentation-ready substrates
using physico-chemical and enzymatic treatments.

  • Mechanical & thermochemical pre-treatment
  • Enzymatic hydrolysis
  • On-site inoculum upstream processing

02

Fermentation

Scalable fermentation capabilities from
25L to 3,000L across multiple bioreactor
configurations.

  • 25L – 3,000L bioreactors
  • Submerged & solid-state fermentation
  • Real-time process monitoring

03

Downstream Processing

Product recovery, separation, and
purification to achieve target quality and
yield.

  • Centrifugation & filtration
  • Chromatographic separation
  • Product purification

04

Preservation & Concentration

Stabilisation and formulation of bio-based
products for storage, transport, and
application testing.

  • Spray drying & freeze drying
  • Evaporation & concentration
  • Encapsulation

05

Application Testing & TEA/LCA

Validation of product performance and
techno-economic and life-cycle
assessment.

  • Functional testing & characterisation
  • Techno-economic analysis (TEA)
  • Life-cycle assessment (LCA)

Why NBPP

Why work with NBPP

Reduce technical and
scale-up risk

De-risk your innovation journey with proven pilot-scale infrastructure and expert technical support at every stage.

Accelerate the path to
market

Compress development timelines with integrated processing capabilities and rapid iteration from lab to pre-commercial scale.

Strengthen internal R&D
and validation

Access specialised equipment and expertise that complement your internal capabilities and generate robust validation data.

Support sustainable
bio-based innovation

Advance the circular bioeconomy with sustainable processes validated through rigorous life-cycle and techno-economic assessment.

Who NBPP supports

Organisation Types

SMEs

Startups

Spin-outs

Researchers

Established Industry

Sectors

Dairy

Meat

Forestry

Agri-food

Brewing & Distilling

Marine

Your scale-up partnership starts here

Contact our team to discuss how NBPP can support your bio-based
innovation.

Get In Touch
Download Brochure
Sector
SME

NBPP works with small and medium enterprises across agri-food and bio-based sectors, helping them de-risk and validate novel processes at pilot scale before committing to full commercial investment.

  • Dairy processors and co-operatives — whey, permeate, sludge or lactose side streams
  • Meat and animal by-product processors — collagen, gelatine, peptide or functional ingredient extraction
  • Seafood and marine biomass processors — high-value compound recovery
  • Brewing and distilling operators — spent grain, yeast or stillage valorisation potential
  • Bakery and grain processors — starch or protein-rich side streams
  • Fresh produce and horticulture businesses — biomass or organic waste for bioconversion
  • Food ingredient companies — pilot-scale formulation, drying or encapsulation trials
  • Agri-food businesses — anaerobic digestion or biomethane generation from organic waste
  • Forestry and lignocellulosic biomass processors — pre-treatment and fractionation support
Talk to our team →
Organisation Type
Startups

NBPP helps early-stage ventures bridge the gap between bench-scale science and pilot validation, providing the infrastructure and technical support needed to attract investment and reach the market faster.

  • Biotech and agri-food start-ups at TRL4–6 needing to move from bench to pilot scale
  • Precision fermentation ventures requiring bioreactor access for organism and process validation
  • Bio-based ingredient companies needing product samples for customer trials and investor due diligence
  • Green chemistry start-ups developing bio-based alternatives to petrochemical inputs
  • Biomaterial and bioplastic developers requiring upstream and downstream process validation
  • Food-tech start-ups developing novel protein, bioactive or functional ingredient products
  • Sustainability-focused start-ups building circular economy solutions around agricultural or industrial waste
Talk to our team →
Organisation Type
Spin-outs

NBPP supports university and institute spin-outs in translating advanced research into validated, investor-ready processes, providing the pilot infrastructure and technical evidence needed for commercialisation.

  • University and institute spin-outs at TRL5–7 requiring pilot infrastructure to de-risk commercialisation
  • Spin-outs developing fermentation-derived enzymes, organic acids or specialty chemicals
  • Deep-tech spin-outs in algal biotechnology, synthetic biology or advanced bioprocessing
  • Spin-outs pursuing IP protection and investor readiness through pilot-scale process data packages
  • Spin-outs requiring TEA and LCA evidence to support licensing, partnership or funding applications
Talk to our team →
Organisation Type
Researchers and RPOs

NBPP gives research groups and project consortia access to pilot-scale infrastructure beyond university lab capability, supporting applied bioeconomy research and the generation of real process data.

  • Research groups at TRL4–6 requiring scale-up infrastructure beyond what is available in a university laboratory
  • Principal investigators running applied bioeconomy, fermentation or biorefinery research programmes
  • Collaborative research teams bridging academic discovery and industrial application
  • Researchers developing novel pre-treatment, separation or purification methods requiring pilot-scale validation
  • Teams conducting techno-economic or life-cycle assessments requiring real process data at scale
  • EU-funded project consortia — Horizon Europe, CBE JU — requiring a pilot and demonstration site partner
Talk to our team →
Organisation Type
Established Industry

NBPP partners with established manufacturers and multinationals to pilot new product lines, validate feedstock substitution and generate the evidence needed before committing to capital investment at scale.

  • Large food and beverage manufacturers seeking to valorise production waste or co-products
  • Dairy multinationals and co-operatives piloting new ingredient or bioactive product lines
  • Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies requiring GMP-aligned pilot-scale fermentation or extraction
  • Chemical and materials companies exploring bio-based feedstock substitution
  • Utility and waste management companies investigating biological treatment and resource recovery
  • Forestry and timber companies assessing lignocellulosic biorefinery options
  • Multinational manufacturers with sustainability, circular economy or Scope 3 emission reduction targets requiring pilot-scale evidence before capital commitment
Talk to our team →
Sector
Dairy

Ireland's dairy sector generates significant volumes of whey, permeate, lactose streams and processing sludge — most carry untapped value. NBPP provides the pre-treatment, fermentation and downstream processing infrastructure to convert these co-products into high-value proteins, bioactive peptides, functional ingredients and organic acids at pilot scale. Whether you are a processor exploring a new ingredient line or a co-operative assessing the commercial viability of a side stream, NBPP gives you the process data and product samples needed to proceed with clarity.

Whey & Permeate Valorisation Bioactive Peptides Functional Ingredients Organic Acids
DAFM Resources → Talk to our team
Sector
Meat & Animal By-Products

Animal by-products represent one of the most underutilised bioresource streams in Irish food production. NBPP supports the valorisation of ABP-classified materials, including collagen, gelatine, hydrolysed proteins and bioactive extracts, through enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation and advanced separation at pilot scale. For processors operating under ABP Regulation constraints, NBPP's GMP-aligned infrastructure provides a compliant, technically credible environment to validate new processes and develop business cases for higher-value product development.

Collagen & Gelatine Hydrolysed Proteins ABP Compliant GMP-Aligned
DAFM Resources → Talk to our team
Sector
Forestry & Lignocellulosic Biomass

Ireland's forestry sector produces substantial volumes of woody biomass, bark, lignin and processing residues that remain largely underdeveloped as a feedstock resource. NBPP offers thermochemical and enzymatic pre-treatment capabilities specifically configured for lignocellulosic materials, supporting fractionation into fermentable sugars, lignin-derived compounds and biobased chemicals. From Sitka spruce residues to sawmill co-products, NBPP provides the scale-up infrastructure to assess technical feasibility and generate the economic evidence needed to justify downstream investment.

Lignocellulosic Fractionation Fermentable Sugars Lignin-Derived Compounds Sawmill Co-Products
DAFM Resources → Talk to our team
Sector
Agri-food

Across tillage, horticulture, and food processing, Irish agri-food businesses generate a wide range of organic side streams — spent grain, fruit and vegetable pomace, starch residues, food waste and processing effluents. NBPP can support pre-treatment, fermentation, extraction and drying at pilot scale to produce food and feed ingredients, natural pigments, flavours, biobased chemicals and biomethane. For agri-food SMEs and co-operatives, open-access shared infrastructure removes the capital barrier to innovation and provides a credible pathway from waste stream to pre-commercial product.

Side-Stream Valorisation Natural Pigments & Flavours Biomethane Open-Access Infrastructure
DAFM Resources → Talk to our team
Sector
Brewing & Distilling

Brewing and distilling operations produce significant volumes of spent grain, yeast biomass, pot ale, draff and effluent streams that are not reused. NBPP supports the conversion of these streams into protein concentrates, yeast extracts, organic acids, bioactive compounds and biomethane through fermentation, separation and anaerobic digestion at pilot scale. For craft producers and larger operations alike, NBPP offers a technically credible route to turn a cost centre into a revenue stream, with process data and product samples to support investment decisions or customer conversations.

Spent Grain & Draff Yeast Extracts Organic Acids Anaerobic Digestion
DAFM Resources → Talk to our team
Sector
Marine

Ireland's marine and aquaculture sectors generate considerable volumes of underutilised biomass — including shellfish processing waste, fish by-products, seaweed and microalgae — rich in proteins, omega fatty acids, bioactive compounds and polysaccharides. NBPP's fermentation, extraction and downstream processing capabilities support the development of high-value marine-derived ingredients for food, feed, nutraceutical and cosmetic applications. The facility's photobioreactor infrastructure further enables the cultivation and processing of microalgae strains for premium compound production at pilot scale.

Omega Fatty Acids Polysaccharides Microalgae Cultivation Nutraceutical & Cosmetic
DAFM Resources → Talk to our team