WBSO process development | Klaren Subsidieadvies

Have your process assessed View the WBSO requirements

BY PETER KLAREN · UPDATED 19 SEPTEMBER 2026 · SOURCE: RVO WBSO GUIDE 2026

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Technically new production process Optimisation versus development Technical bottlenecks Scale-up Trial runs and process windows Pilot installations Machine building versus process Costs and expenditures Process examples Description in the application Frequently asked questions

What is a technically new production process?

A process aimed at higher capacity, tighter tolerance, a new material or lower emissions, for which no proven process route exists, can be technically new. RVO assesses this according to the same pattern as product development:

Technical objective

Which process performance do you want to achieve: capacity, tolerance, material, emissions?

Technical bottleneck

Which physical or chemical mechanism prevents this with known process routes?

In-house solution approach

Which new process route, control strategy or process control do you develop yourself?

Demonstrating the operating principle

With which trial runs and measurements do you demonstrate that the process works?

Extrusion example: a manufacturer wants to extrude a biobased plastic at higher speed. Increasing throughput causes unstable material flow and local degradation; known temperature and pressure settings do not resolve this. The company therefore develops a new temperature zoning, screw geometry and process control itself and tests these through trial runs.

See this case in detail in the representative WBSO cases.

Process optimisation versus WBSO process development

This is the most important distinction on this page. Optimising within known settings is not R&D. Once you need to investigate the process window itself because the outcome is unpredictable, the work may qualify.

Situation	Likely WBSO?	Why
Optimising temperature and speed within known margins	Usually not	Routine optimisation without technical uncertainty.
Developing a new process route because existing routes do not work	Potentially yes	There is technical uncertainty about feasibility.
Installing and commissioning a standard machine	Usually not	Application of existing, proven technology.
Developing a new dosing or control principle yourself	Potentially yes	In-house technical development of a new operating principle.
Reducing cycle time with existing settings	Usually not	Engineering and optimisation, no new technical mechanism.
Accelerating a process where new flow or heat behaviour arises	Potentially yes	A new, unresolved technical bottleneck arises.
Automating a production line with standard robots	Usually not	Integration of existing technology.
Developing a new gripper, control or positioning method	Potentially yes	Existing technology is insufficient; a new technical operating principle is required.

Rule of thumb: the desired improvement is not the WBSO bottleneck; the bottleneck is the underlying technical mechanism that prevents that improvement from being achieved using existing knowledge.

Where do technical bottlenecks arise in process development?

Examples include situations where:

heat transfer cannot be controlled sufficiently;
flow becomes unstable at higher capacity;
pressure build-up leads to process instability;
material behaviour changes during scale-up;
tolerances cannot be achieved;
reaction time is insufficiently reproducible;
emissions increase under changed process conditions;
a control strategy does not respond quickly enough.

Always describe the underlying technical mechanism in the application, not only the desired improvement.

Scale-up and WBSO

Scale-up does not automatically qualify; it may qualify where the larger scale produces new, unpredictable technical behaviour that you must solve. Increasing a reactor from 10 to 1,000 litres is not in itself R&D. But if heat removal, mixing or residence time changes fundamentally as a result and a technically new solution must be developed, the development work may qualify.

Similar transitions occur frequently:

laboratory extrusion → industrial extrusion;
batch process → continuous process;
laboratory drying → industrial drying line;
small reactor → production scale;
manual assembly → high-speed automation.

Trial runs, test series and process windows

Experimental trial runs can qualify as R&D when they are necessary to develop the technically new process solution and demonstrate the operating principle. Routine trials, quality control, production commissioning after the operating principle is known, maintenance and fault repair do not qualify as R&D.

The WBSO development project ends once the technical operating principle has been demonstrated. Activities after that — production validation, qualification and scale-up without remaining technical uncertainty — no longer qualify as R&D.

Pilot installations and productive final use

Process development often requires testing at a larger scale. RVO makes an important distinction between two situations:

Situation	WBSO treatment
Experimental test setup used exclusively to demonstrate the operating principle	May qualify as an S&O expenditure
Full-scale installation used for production after the R&D project (pilot plant or prototype with productive final use)	Expenditures do not automatically qualify as WBSO expenditures

Therefore establish in advance whether an installation will be used for further production after development, or served exclusively to demonstrate technical feasibility. For the financial treatment, see WBSO costs and expenditures.

Machine building versus process development

A new production line can involve two developments at the same time:

Product development

You develop a technically new machine, dosing head, reactor or gripper.

Process development

You develop a technically new way in which material is mixed, formed, heated, dosed or processed.

Both can qualify for WBSO, but the technical bottlenecks, solution approaches and R&D hours must be clearly scoped per development path. If you mainly develop the machine itself, see WBSO product development.

Costs and expenditures in process development

In addition to S&O wages, direct costs and expenditures may qualify: test materials, measurement equipment specifically for R&D tests and certain testing costs. For pilot installations and larger investments, any productive final use is decisive for what does and does not qualify.

Compare the hourly costs-and-expenditures allowance and actual costs with the WBSO calculator and read the full rules under WBSO costs and expenditures.

Examples of WBSO process development

The following situations illustrate where process development can become technically uncertain. These are representative anonymised examples, not claims about specific clients.

Biobased plastic extrusion

At higher throughput, the material degrades and flow becomes unstable. The company develops new temperature zoning, screw geometry and process control.