Growing the bioeconomy requires products and pathways that are cost-competitive. Technoeconomic analyses (TEAs) aim to predict the long-term economic viability and often use what are known as nth plant cost and performance parameters. However, as TEA is more widely adopted to inform everything from early-stage research to company and investor decision-making, the nth plant approach is inadequate and risks being misused to inform the early stages of scale-up. Some methods exist for conducting first-of-a-kind/pioneer plant cost analyses, but these receive less attention and have not been critically evaluated. This article explores TEA methods for early-stage scale-up, critically evaluates their applicability to biofuels and bioproducts, and recommends strategies for producing TEA results better suited to guiding prioritization and successful scale-up of bioprocesses.
BT - Current Opinion in Biotechnology DA - 04/2025 DO - 10.1016/j.copbio.2025.103258 N2 -Growing the bioeconomy requires products and pathways that are cost-competitive. Technoeconomic analyses (TEAs) aim to predict the long-term economic viability and often use what are known as nth plant cost and performance parameters. However, as TEA is more widely adopted to inform everything from early-stage research to company and investor decision-making, the nth plant approach is inadequate and risks being misused to inform the early stages of scale-up. Some methods exist for conducting first-of-a-kind/pioneer plant cost analyses, but these receive less attention and have not been critically evaluated. This article explores TEA methods for early-stage scale-up, critically evaluates their applicability to biofuels and bioproducts, and recommends strategies for producing TEA results better suited to guiding prioritization and successful scale-up of bioprocesses.
PB - Elsevier BV PY - 2025 EP - 103258 T2 - Current Opinion in Biotechnology TI - Technoeconomic analysis for near-term scale-up of bioprocesses UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2025.103258 VL - 92 SN - 0958-1669 ER -