300-Litre Pilot Scale Fermentation Services UK | FlexBIO - IBioIC Edinburgh
The FlexBIO 300-litre bioreactor is one of Scotland's largest open-access pilot fermentation vessels, available to commercial biotech companies, academic spin-outs, and international clients on a service or direct-access basis. Located at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, the 300L vessel enables full pilot-scale fermentation runs under containment level 2 conditions - delivering the scale-up data that investors, regulators, and manufacturing partners require.
Why pilot scale matters at 300L
The jump from bench scale (1-10L) to pilot scale (100-300L) is where most bioprocesses fail - or reveal the process changes needed to succeed at industrial scale. Running at 300L exposes mixing effects, heat and mass transfer limitations, and substrate gradients that simply don't appear at laboratory scale.
At FlexBIO, we've designed our 300L operation to provide maximum insight at this critical transition point. Every run generates rich process data, online and offline, that feeds back into process understanding and de-risks the next scale step.
The FlexBIO 300L Bioreactor
One of the largest publicly-accessible pilot fermentation vessels in Scotland, available to commercial clients, academic spin-outs, and international companies on a service or access basis.
300L working volume (full pilot scale)
Fed-batch and batch operation modes
Containment Level 2 certified
Continuous centrifugation integration
Full online process monitoring
Expert bioprocess engineer support
What 300L scale-up delivers for your business
For investor presentations: Demonstrated pilot-scale yield data at 300L is a fundamentally different conversation from projected lab-scale extrapolations. It transforms your investment proposition.
For manufacturing partner discussions: A 300L dataset gives contract manufacturers confidence in your process. It shows scalability is proven, not theoretical.
For regulatory submissions: Process characterisation data generated at pilot scale (including 300L runs) supports CMC sections of regulatory submissions and supports technology transfer documentation.
For grant applications: UKRI, Innovate UK, and Horizon Europe all value demonstrated TRL progression. A 300L run at FlexBIO documents a concrete TRL step-change with credible, independently-generated data.
Technical specifications
Working volume: 300 litres
Vessel type: Stirred tank bioreactor
Operation modes: Batch, fed-batch, continuous
Containment: Level 2 (GM and wildtype organisms)
Agitation: Variable-speed mechanical agitation with Rushton and pitched-blade configurations
Aeration: Controlled sparging with mass flow controllers
Temperature: Controlled heating and cooling to ±0.5°C
Monitoring (online): pH, DO, OD (if applicable), temperature, airflow, agitation speed
Harvest: Integrated continuous centrifugation for high-density cultures
Location: Containment Level 2 suite, John Coulson Building, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh
Enquire about a 300L fermentation run
Availability for 300L runs is scheduled in advance. We recommend contacting us 4–8 weeks before your desired start date to ensure availability and allow time for a technical consultation and process preparation. Email scaleup@ibioic.com or complete our project enquiry form.