Commercializing the Bio-based Economy: Pilot and Demonstration Plants in Innovation Policy and Management

Research Project, 2014 – 2018

In this multi-disciplinary research project we address the role of pilot and demonstration plants in realizing the biobased economy in general and different biorefinery concepts in particular. These plants, typically relying on both public and private funding, represent a bridge between basic knowledge generation and technological breakthroughs on the one hand, and industrial application and commercial adoption on the other. The overall objectives of the project are: (a) to increase knowledge about the societal benefits of biorefinery pilot and demonstration plants in the transition towards a bio-based economy; and (b) to point towards different policy tools and management measures that could strengthen the benefits that are identified. The research addresses the actor networks surrounding important biorefinery-related plants in Sweden, and their role in knowledge generation enabling technology up-scaling and diffusion. In the planned studies we also address the potential spillover effects on other sectors, including new ideas for basic resarch (i.e., knowledge spillovers).