Pilot Plant Economics

This session will focus on all aspects of the economics of pilot plants from justification through to operation. You are invited to share your experiences on the following suggested (but not exclusive) topics: * Economic justification for building new pilot plants * Economics of external pilot plant tolling vs. in-house R&D * Analysis of pilot plant costs (operating and capital), how they are measured, and how to control them * Economics of pilot testing vs. process modeling * Decision making on what to pilot and how much money to spend * Techniques for pilot plant resource prioritization * How to staff and fund pilot plants * How to allocate pilot plant costs: central R&D vs. per-project costing * New technologies and rules of thumb to reduce pilot plant costs * Utilization of academic labs vs. in-house testing