One year later: Insights from Scale-up frontrunners | Robyn Eijlander (NIZO)

Collaborators

It has been one year since Planet B.io hosted the Let’s Talk Bio Scale-up event! Back then, we brought together five key scale-up frontrunners to share their insights on going from grams to tonnes and navigating the 'valley of death.'

Now, one year later, we reconnect with each of these frontrunners to learn how their organizations have progressed in the past year.

Next up is Robyn Eijlander Science, Innovation Manager and Program Manager at NIZO and BFF, who shares last year’s improvements and shows off a nice bracelet.

Over the past year, quite a lot has changed at NIZO. Can you tell us more about that?

Indeed, especially in the past few months, a lot has changed at NIZO since the scale-up event. The biggest change is that we have now received the official approval from the National Growth Fund for the realisation of an open access scale-up infrastructure for fermentation, aimed at alternative protein production! Thanks to this, we can now move forward with our plans for this new pilot plant, focused on upstream processes such as precision fermentation and microbial biomass fermentations, including those involving genetically modified micro-organisms (GMOs).

This initiative builds on the expertise within the NIZO FoodGrade Pilot Plant, which already provides strong capabilities in downstream processes such as protein extraction and purification, extrusion, spray drying, and food applications. We are now combining that solid foundation with the new opportunities offered by the open-access pilot facility for precision fermentation. While we were only able to carry out non-GMO fermentations in the NIZO plant, the BFF now allows us to work with GMOs as well, enabling us to support our customers even better.

Since January 2025, we have officially started the project, and it is now becoming tangible: our plans and vision are taking shape.

This new pilot plant is called BFF. What does this abbreviation stand for, and can you tell us a bit more about it?

Officially, BFF stands for Biotechnology Fermentation Factory, but it is also a nod to Best Friend Forever. During the kick-off event on 6 June, all visitors received a BFF friendship bracelet. A subtle hint that this facility is your ideal partner when scaling up innovative fermentation-based products.

The BFF is a public-private entity, empowered by NIZO, drawing on NIZO’s expertise and staff. The facility is open-access and non-discriminatory, meaning that anyone can make use of it within the safety and quality frameworks. The BFF is committed to simplifying and de-risking the crucial scaling-up process as an intermediate step towards market introduction, both by offering expertise and equipment and by investigating financially attractive constructions for scaling-up projects. The BFF thus truly acts as a partner in scaling up innovative food products and bringing them to market.

That’s fantastic news! When will the BFF become operational?

"The pre-pilot facility will be the first to become operational, namely in Q1 2026. Here, customers will be able to test and optimise their processes on a 10-litre scale with a focus on scalability. This provides a realistic understanding of the process and helps assess whether full-scale production is both attractive and feasible, while also generating valuable data for product and process development.

The great thing about the pre-pilot is that it essentially is a miniature version of the pilot, with the DSP equipment also available on an appropriate scale. Processes can therefore also be ‘downscaled’ if optimisations are needed after the pilot runs.

The pilot, equipped with 1 m³ and 10 m³ fermenters and corresponding DSP units, will become operational in early 2027. This will enable companies to produce demonstration products for events, investors, regulatory dossier of customers. It is important to note that the BFF is fully integrated with the downstream capabilities of the NIZO FoodGrade Pilot Plant, allowing for additional DSP if required.

Companies can test and demonstrate their process from start to finish without having to invest in a full-scale infrastructure themselves. In addition, NIZO offers a wide range of complementary expertise and services including protein analyses, research opportunities into digestion, allergenicity, nutritional value, protein functionality, food applications and sensory analysis."

In your opinion, what else is crucial when developing an innovative product, apart from this facility?

"When developing a new, innovative food product, often from a scientific starting point, it is very important to consider its application, safety and scalability at an early stage. If you ultimately want to enter the consumer market, the product must be available on supermarket shelves, be safe and affordable, and taste good. That sounds logical, but it requires major steps that are not yet tangible for many entrepreneurs, especially in the early R&D phase.

How should you approach that? Make sure to surround yourself with the right people who can support you, and keep your ultimate goal in mind. At NIZO, we have extensive experience, expertise, and a strong network to help bridge that gap. Think early about regulatory compliance and take advantage of open-access and shared facilities. You don’t need to do everything yourself or have all capabilities in-house at all stages of business development. This is especially important in the pilot phase, which is both time- and cost-intensive – and often where many start-ups struggle. Our aim is to provide support in this stage while ensuring full IP protection and confidentiality.

My advice: be proactive, become part of a network, and take advantage of every opportunity to scale your product realistically and efficiently."

“When developing a new, innovative food product, often from a scientific starting point, it is very important to consider its application, safety and scalability at an early stage.”

Are there any other developments underway at the NIZO site?

"We are currently working on the development of the Food Innovation Campus, a hub where leading companies in the protein and food transition come together to learn, innovate, share knowledge and accelerate scale-up. A concrete example of this is the collaboration with NoPalm Ingredients, which is establishing a demonstration plant on the campus. In this plant NoPalm Ingredients will test and scale up their sustainable oil ingredients microbial production processes, which fits in perfectly with the mission of the Food Innovation Campus."

There’s certainly a lot happening! Any final message you’d like to share?

Absolutely: The Biotechnology Fermentation Factory – your BFF in upscaling!

For more information about NIZO and the BFF, please visit their websites:
- NIZO
- BFF