Focus Areas
Transforming innovations through scale-up and commercialization
As pressure mounts to deploy next-generation energy and industrial process solutions, companies and research teams face a critical challenge: how to scale promising technologies from the lab to real-world applications quickly, affordably, and with confidence.
Building a custom pilot facility is often prohibitively expensive. Permitting and safety requirements slow progress. Access to the right utilities, space, and expertise is limited. And without validated performance data, it is difficult to attract investors or meet the milestones required for public funding. For startups and seasoned R&D teams alike, the gap between prototype and practical deployment can stall even the most transformative ideas.
That’s where the RTI Pilot Xcelerator (RPX) comes in. Located in North Carolina, RPX is one of the only privately-owned energy pilot facilities in the United States built to accelerate scale-up for advanced energy and industrial process technologies.
Being technology-agnostic and enabling integration with already existing processes such as carbon capture, waste-to-fuels, and aviation fuel production, RPX helps startups, commercial partners, and government-funded teams to accelerate innovation—bridging the gap between prototype and practical application.
Facility Overview: Purpose-built for Piloting Energy Innovation
The Pilot Xcelerator provides scalable, real-world infrastructure for testing and validating new process innovations. In combination with our team of expert engineers, scientists, and project managers, we help clients advance their innovative technologies from laboratory to pilot scales.
Key Features:
- 13,000 sq ft of current space with a 15,000 sq ft expansion opening in 2026
- Configurable bays for process skids (indoor and covered outdoor)
- Dedicated control rooms and offline labs for safe, real-time process monitoring
- Adjacent solar field (future) to demonstrate behind-the-meter integration
Full Utility Access, On-Demand:
- 480 V, 3-phase power supply
- Bulk gas supply: compressed air, nitrogen, oxygen, CO2, hydrogen, natural gas
- Flue-gas supply (coal and natural gas burner)
- Chilled water
- Vent headers, thermal oxidizer, and gas flare for safety and emissions control
RTI Pilot Xcelerator built in 2013.
Core Process Units in the RTI Pilot Xcelerator
Dedicating More Space for Scale-up
Building on the success of the primary facility constructed in 2013, the RTI Pilot Xcelerator is expanding, and will feature 12,000 sq ft of additional process bay space and 3,000 sq ft of indoor, climate-controlled workspace, including offline lab and control rooms. The new facility will connect to existing utilities and gas supply and will be adjacent to a planned solar field, enabling demonstrations of behind-the-meter energy processes.
Solving the Clean Energy Puzzle
David Dayton is a chemist creating renewable, sustainable petroleum replacement. Learn how his passion for chemistry grew from childhood memories at his parents' dry cleaning business to converting renewable organic materials, like woodchips from local pine trees, into liquid fuels more sustainable than traditional petroleum-based fuel.
Meet the Experts
View All Experts
Navigate to
David Dausch
David Dausch
Navigate to
David C. Dayton
David C. Dayton
Navigate to
Marty Lail
Marty Lail
Navigate to
Sameer Parvathikar
Sameer Parvathikar
Navigate to
Collins Enwereuzo
Collins Enwereuzo
Navigate to
Vijay Gupta
Vijay Gupta
Navigate to
Paul Mobley
Paul Mobley
Navigate to
Jak Tanthana
Jak Tanthana
Navigate to
Mustapha Soukri
Mustapha Soukri
Related Projects
Reducing CO2 Emissions with Innovative Non-Aqueous Solvent
New carbon capture technology proves effective for removing CO2 from natural gas combustion exhaust streams – a significant step in reducing carbon emissions
Read More about Reducing CO2 Emissions with Innovative Non-Aqueous Solvent
