Pitch Perfect and Boost the European Bioeconomy 2026
Cross-border Pitching, Matchmaking and Networking Event
2 December 2026 - Scale-up Experience Day for Start-Ups, SMEs, Corporates, Private & Public Investors @ Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Ghent, Belgium
The number of participants for the Scale-Up Experience Day @ Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is limited to 150. Upon registration you can indicate your expression of interest to participate, your participation will be confirmed ASAP. A free shuttle bus will be organised from Brussels Airport to Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and back for all participants. Venue: Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Rodenhuizekaai 1, 9042 Ghent, Belgium.
View Full ScheduleSCROLL DOWN to see the detailed programme for Day 3: 2 December 2026
8:00: DEPARTURE shuttle bus 1 at Holiday Inn Express Brussels Airport / Aparthotel Adagio Access Brussels Airport
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords |
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8:00: DEPARTURE shuttle bus 2 at Brussels Airport (Sheraton Brussels Airport)
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 8:00 SHARP | Watch this video to find the bus | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bLlnAkLjsg – | Download |
9:00 – 10:35: Study Visit to the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 9.00 - 9:10 | Welcome | Wim Soeaert – CEO, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download | |
| 9:10 - 9:40 | Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant: Scale-up and so much more! | Speaker, TBC – | Download | |
| 9:40 - 9:50 | Q&A | Download | ||
| 9:50 - 10:35 | Seeing is believing: Guided tour of the facilities | Multiple Guides – TBC | Download |
10:35 - 11:00: Networking Coffee Break
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| Enjoy a fresh cup of coffee or tea! | Network – Network! | Download |
11:00 - 15:00: Scale-up workshop: Win the Scale-Up Challenge: Building Efficient, Scalable and Economically Viable Bioprocesses
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11:00 - 12:00: Win the Scale-Up Challenge - PART 1: Begin with the End in Mind
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 11:00 - 11:05 | Introduction: Framing the aim and content of the workshop | Hendrik Waegeman – Head of Business operations, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download | |
| 11:05 - 11:15 | Why do I need an external expert view on my process? | Alex Patist – COO Arzeda & Paebble | Download | |
| 11:15 - 11:23 | Help, where do I start? Introducing the Scale-Up Accelerator Network (SAN) | Esthèle Goure – SAN Responsible, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download | |
| 11:23 - 11:32 | Supercharge growth through strategic fundraising | Katelijne Bekers, TBC – Co-Founder & CEO, MicroHarvest, TBC | Download | |
| 11:32 - 11:40 | The Investors POV | Joy Faucher, TBC – Forbion Bioeconomy, TBC | Download | |
| 11:40 - 12:10 | Panel discussion / Q&A | Moderated by Hendrik Waegeman – Head of Business operations, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download |
12:00 - 12:50: Win the Scale-Up Challenge - PART 2: I Hate to Burst your Bubble, but the Economics Will Never Work
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 12:00 - 12:10 | Why you need to think of TEA early on | Koen Clymans – Owner & Director, UR Bright Side | Download | |
| 12:10 - 12:18 | TEA across TRL scales, from early development to installation design choices: The R&D POV | Fernanda Thimoteo – PhD Candidate, Project Manager, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download | |
| 12:18 - 12:26 | TEA across TRL scales, from early development to installation design choices: The Engineering POV | Iancu Avram – Project Manager, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download | |
| 12:26 - 12:50 | Panel discussion / Q&A | Moderated by Hendrik Waegeman – Head of Business operations, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download |
12:50 - 13:30: Networking Lunch
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 12:40 - 13:20 | Enjoy a delicious freshly served lunch | Network – Network! | Download |
13:30 - 14:45: Win the Scale-Up Challenge - PART 3: Democratizing Biosolutions: from Niche to Commodity
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 13:30 - 13:38 | Cost advantaged fermentation with DAB.bio technology | Eric van der Meer – CEO, DAB.bio | Download | |
| 13:38 - 13:46 | The future of AI in biomanufacturing | Diogo Pinto & Alexander Verschraegen – Project Acquisition Coordinator & Project Manager, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download | |
| 13:46 - 13:54 | Smart sensors for autonomous and decentralized follow-up of fermentation processes: the first results! | Amir Atabaki, TBC – Co-Founder & CEO, Perceptra, TBC | Download | |
| 13:54 - 14:02 | Ready-to-Use starter cultures for scalable and reliable biomanufacturing: the first results! | Troels Prahl – Co-Founder & CEO, Swan Neck Bio | Download | |
| 14:02 - 14:10 | Sequential fed-batch method | Semiramis Yilmaz, TBC – Researcher, VIB, TBC | Download | |
| 14:10 - 14:18 | From niche to commodity | Will van den Tweel – COO/CTO, Those Vegan Cowboys | Download | |
| 14:18 - 14:45 | Panel discussion / Q&A | Moderated by Hendrik Waegeman – Head of Business operations, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download |
14:45 - 14:50: Win the Scale-Up Challenge - CLOSING
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 14:45 - 14:50 | CLOSING | Hendrik Waegeman – Head of Business Operations, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant | Download |
15:00: DEPARTURE shuttle bus to Brussels Airport
| Time of day | Title | Speakers | Keywords | |
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| 15:00 SHARP | We will take you back safely to the airport, thank you for joining us! | Download |
16:00: ARRIVAL at Brussels Airport
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