Meet the People Behind RUNFASTER4EU: Stefano Inno

Scaling up bio-based innovation requires not only new technologies, but also the ability to integrate them into existing industrial systems.

At RUNFASTER4EU, WP3 lead by Stefano Inno from Versalis,  works on upgrading existing biorefineries for bioproducts to support new bio-based value chains and industrial-scale processing of sustainable feedstocks.

“The work concentrates on adapting current plants to process new feedstocks, improving process efficiency and reliability, and demonstrating stable, continuous operation under industrial conditions,” Stefano explains.

Activities focus on retrofitting and upgrading existing biorefineries for bioproducts to handle multiple feedstocks and outputs, while improving separation and purification processes.

“These upgrades allow the production of bio-based building blocks and intermediates at full industrial scale, maintaining product quality, energy efficiency and overall process robustness,” Stefano notes.

According to him, one of the main technical challenges lies in managing the variability of biomass-derived feedstocks and integrating new process sections into operating industrial plants, while maintaining stable long-term operation and consistent product specifications.

For Stefano, the innovative dimension of the work lies in the retrofit-oriented approach.

“Novel process configurations, debottlenecking solutions and upgraded separation and purification units enable stable, continuous operation with higher flexibility, achieving full cascading biomass valorisation and delivering market-ready bio-based materials.”