Owner's engineer for biobased, fibre and packaging plants.
An owner's engineer represents the project owner — not the contractor — through the full build: feasibility study, front-end engineering design (FEED), EPCM delivery, and commissioning to performance. For first-of-kind biobased and circular plants, the team that proved the process should carry the engineering — because the risk is in the gap between the pilot and the plant, and that gap is where most projects fail.
The pilot works. The plant doesn't.
Most biobased and circular projects don't fail on the science — they fail on the handoff. The team that proved the process walks away; a contractor who never saw the pilot builds the plant. The mass balance doesn't close, the feedstock varies, the equipment is wrong, and the owner finds out at commissioning.
Process-to-plant gap
A pilot proves the chemistry. A plant needs the mass balance, the heat integration, the equipment sizing, and the control logic — all derived from pilot data that a generalist contractor doesn't hold.
Feedstock reality
Straw isn't wood. Bagasse isn't hemp. Each feedstock brings its own ash, silica, and seasonal variability. The engineering has to account for it, or the plant runs at half capacity for two years.
Capital misaligned
Investors fund a feasibility study, then a different team does FEED, then a third builds it. Each handoff loses context and reintroduces risk — the opposite of what capital wanted.
From feasibility to a running line.
Four services, one team. Each gate produces a deliverable your experts — and your investors' experts — can verify against the pilot data.
Feasibility study engineering
A lab result or pilot proven at Loonshot Factory, turned into a costed, buildable process. Mass and energy balance, equipment sizing, CAPEX and OPEX estimates, and a go / no-go recommendation — the document your investment committee and your lender both read.
FEL 1–2Front-end engineering design (FEED)
The feasibility study hardened into a build-ready engineering package: P&IDs, equipment specifications, vendor pre-selection, and a fixed-price EPCM scope. This is where the project stops being a study and starts being a build.
FEL 3EPCM delivery
Engineering, procurement and construction management — concept to commissioning. One team carries the process from the pilot line to the running plant, and stays on site to performance. For first-of-kind, that continuity is the single biggest risk reducer.
Concept → commissioningTechnical due diligence
Independent, first-principles validation of a scale-up or a project — for investors, lenders, and boards. Process design, feedstock and offtake risk, equipment and vendor choices, and the carbon and circularity claims that sit on top. Every number traces to a source.
For capitalPlants we've carried to the line.
Every number here is a real project. Clients named only where already public; the rest are anonymised per our convention.
Pharma-grade microcrystalline cellulose plant
Finland · EPC delivered 2021–2024 · 10,000 t/a — a first-of-kind process from concept to a running line, with the team on site at performance.
Agrofibre pulp & flexible-packaging mill
Latin America · EPCM support · ongoing · 140,000 t/a, 400 t/d — owner's engineer role with tier-one construction management under supervision.
Industrial projects since 2015
Across biobased, fibre, packaging, energy transition and circular manufacturing — Finland, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
WEF Industrial Lighthouse projects
Industry 4.0 transformations recognised by the World Economic Forum — including a >1,000,000 t/a plant with >€50M OPEX improvement and a repeat mandate.
What else sits under the owner's engineer role.
Terms the industry uses internally — low search volume, high buyer intent. They describe work we do inside the same engagement.
What an owner's engineer does — and when you need one.
The role, the timing, and how it fits first-of-kind biobased plants.
What does an owner's engineer do?
An owner's engineer represents the project owner — not the contractor — through the full build. They translate the process into engineering requirements, run the feasibility study and front-end engineering design (FEED), manage the EPCM delivery, and stay on site through commissioning to performance testing. The job is to make sure the plant that gets built is the plant the owner paid for.
How is an owner's engineer different from an EPCM contractor?
An EPCM contractor manages engineering, procurement and construction on the owner's behalf. An owner's engineer sits on the owner's side of the table — setting the requirements the EPCM contractor must meet, validating their work, and protecting the owner's commercial and technical interests. In smaller projects (<€50M) the roles often merge: the same team that proved the process engineers and manages the build, which is how Ikigaia works.
When should we bring in an owner's engineer?
Before capital is committed. The highest-leverage point is the feasibility study and FEED stage — the decision to build is made on those numbers. Bringing an owner's engineer in after the EPCM contract is signed means catching problems late, when they are expensive. For first-of-kind plants, the team that proved the process should carry the engineering.
What is technical due diligence for a biorefinery or fibre plant?
Technical due diligence for manufacturing — as opposed to software — validates the process design, mass and energy balance, equipment selection, feedstock security, offtake agreements, and construction risk. For biobased and circular plants it also covers feedstock variability, regulatory compliance (PPWR, EPR), and the scalability of the lab-to-pilot gap. Ikigaia does this first-principles, for capital providers and project owners.
Do you work on plants above €50M?
Our sweet spot is small and mid-cap projects under €50M — first-of-kind plants where the process risk is high and the owner needs the team that proved it. For larger projects we take the owner's engineer and front-end roles, and hand off construction management to a tier-one contractor under our supervision. The €280M agrofibre mill in Latin America is an example of this split.
Building your first plant? Start with the feasibility.
The highest-leverage decision is made at FEED. Bring us in before capital is committed.