LSIWC Joins the European Pilot Infrastructure Network Pilots4U
The Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry has joined Pilots4U – a European database and collaboration platform that connects open-access pilot and demonstration facilities for the validation of biobased technologies. LSIWC has registered its pilot-scale units, offering access to scalable technologies ranging from feedstock preparation to biomass conversion processes at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4–6.
The institute’s Pilot-Scale Hangar hosts an integrated technological infrastructure that includes equipment for feedstock preparation (coarse and vibratory mills, sieving systems, drying and vacuum units), biomass processing (extraction, impregnation, fermentation, carbonization, electrospinning, cross-flow filtration), as well as conditioning and ageing systems. This infrastructure enables process validation at TRL 4–6 – from sample preparation to pilot-scale demonstration.
Commissioned in 2020, the hangar is designed for flexible configuration, supporting both experimental process development and collaboration with industrial partners. The facility is currently being used in various ERDF, Horizon Europe, and commercial projects, serving as an intermediate platform between laboratory development and full-scale industrial implementation.
Pilots4U / COPILOT – A Platform for Collaboration and Growth
Pilots4U is a European database of more than 150 open-access pilot and demo infrastructures operating in 11 key technological areas, including extraction, fermentation, thermal processing, material technologies, and fibre conversion. Its successor initiative, COPILOT, continues this mission by fostering a dynamic ecosystem for partnerships and technology validation between research institutions, industry networks, and innovation-driven SMEs.
LSIWC’s participation in the Pilots4U and COPILOT networks provides access to European-scale collaboration networks, enables the demonstration of the institute’s in-house developed methods and technologies in an international context, and allows offering infrastructure to partners for project implementation.
Get in touch with us regarding collaboration opportunities and access to pilot-scale facilities: kki@kki.lv