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The 5 Stages of a ScaleUpReady™ Techno-Economic Analysis

A structured Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) for biotech, food-tech, precision fermentation, and sustainable manufacturing startups must follow a staged, decision-driven logic.

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ScaleUpReady™ breaks TEA into five disciplined stages,  ensuring industrial decisions are made before capital is committed.

Stage 1 — What Are We Really Deciding?

A Techno-Economic Analysis does not start with cost modeling. It starts with clarity.

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Before any numbers are built, we define:

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  • Are we scaling now — or preparing to scale?

  • What production capacity is being considered — and why?

  • Do we need to test whether COGS support target pricing and margins?

  • What specific decision must this analysis inform?

 

In practice, founders often begin with a proposed production scenario
(e.g., 10,000 t/year).

 

This becomes the initial target scale scenario — not a fixed assumption.

 

It is then tested and refined through economies-of-scale analysis, sensitivity modeling, and capital constraints.

 

Instead of locking into a “defined scale target,” we establish:

 

Defined initial target scale scenario

 

This distinction is important.

 

It allows the TEA to evaluate whether:

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  • The proposed scale is economically justified

  • A larger scale significantly reduces unit cost

  • A smaller scale aligns better with capital availability

  • Multiple scale scenarios should be evaluated

 

Output:

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  • Clear scope

  • Defined product specification

  • Defined initial target scale scenario

  • Agreed scale evaluation range (if applicable)

  • Explicit decision objective

 

This stage prevents misaligned or premature TEAs.

 

It ensures the analysis answers the right question — before modeling begins.

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Stage 2 — Translating Laboratory Processes into Industrial Scale Design

Laboratory logic does not automatically translate to industrial reality.

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Here, we convert lab or pilot processes into an industrially plausible process design.

 

We:

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  • Define unit operations

  • Identify scalable technologies

  • Identify scale constraints

  • Size major equipment

  • Develop mass & energy balances

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Output:

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  • Block flow diagram

  • Preliminary equipment list

  • Industrial process logic

  • Structured assumptions register

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At this stage, we stop modeling hope, and start modeling industrial reality.

Stage 3 — What Does It Truly Cost?

Now engineering becomes economics.

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We quantify:

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  • Capital expenditure (CAPEX)

  • Operating expenditure (OPEX)

  • Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) per kg or unit

  • Sensitivity to yield, scale, and input costs

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Output:

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  • Full cost breakdown

  • Unit economics

  • Scale vs. cost curve

  • Economies-of-scale analysis

  • Sensitivity analysis

  • Identification of key cost drivers

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This stage demonstrates that a rigorous TEA does not just calculate cost, it tests scale logic and economic resilience.

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This is often where the first unexpected results appear.

Stage 4 — Revealing the Unexpected

This is the inflection point.

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Almost every structured Techno-Economic Analysis reveals at least one critical insight:

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  • A downstream bottleneck

  • A “cheap feedstock” that does not translate into a cheap product

  • Utility costs larger than expected

  • A yield assumption that erodes margins

  • A mismatch between scale and fundraising plans

  • A hidden cost embedded in pilot design

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Output:

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  • Risk map

  • Economic weak points

  • Technical leverage points

  • Clear statement of what must change before scale

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This is where founders say:

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“Better to know this now than after building.”

Stage 5 — Becoming ScaleUpReady™

At this point, techno-economic analysis becomes strategic, not analytical.

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The team decides how to move forward based on structured economic evidence.

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Possible outcomes:

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  • Redesign the process

  • Adjust target scale

  • Improve yield before scaling

  • Refine pricing strategy

  • Stage investment differently

  • Delay scale-up (with clarity)

  • Move confidently toward industrialization

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Output:

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  • Clear next steps

  • Data collection roadmap

  • Investment narrative alignment

  • Structured scale-up strategy

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This is the transition from analysis to execution.


This is where decisions become disciplined.


This is where teams become ScaleUpReady™.

🚀 Explore Further

→ The ScaleUpReady™ Framework
Understand decision-driven framework designed for early-stage biotech and food-tech scale-up.

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→ The 5 Stages of a Techno-Economic Analysis
See how we translate laboratory processes into structured industrial and financial models.

 

→ TEA Readiness Call
Determine whether now is the right time to run a TEA — and what level of clarity your project needs.

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