National Biorefinery Pilot Plant

The National Biorefinery Pilot Plant (NBPP) is Ireland’s first dedicated open-access biorefinery pilot plant, supporting the transition of bio-based innovations from lab-scale validation to pilot-scale demonstration and pre-commercial deployment.

About the project

Located at Ireland’s National Bioeconomy Campus in Lisheen, County Tipperary, NBPP provides integrated pilot-scale infrastructure for the development and scale-up of bio-based products and processes.

The facility supports SMEs, startups, researchers and established industry partners, with capabilities spanning pre-treatment, fermentation, downstream processing, preservation and application testing. Its infrastructure supports scale-up from TRL 4 through to pre-commercial readiness at TRL 8.

NBPP is delivered and operated by the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (IBF).

WHAT THE PROJECT AIMS TO ACHIEVE

NBPP aims to reduce the technical and commercial barriers involved in bringing bio-based innovations from the laboratory to the market.

By providing open-access pilot infrastructure, technical expertise and integrated processing capabilities, the facility enables innovators to test, optimise and validate processes at a meaningful scale before commercial deployment.

Its capabilities cover a wide range of bio-based applications and feedstocks, including agri-food, forestry, marine, brewing and distilling.