In operation since 2013, the Steeper Pilot Plant grew out of an earlier lab-scale development initiative, in coordination with and co-located at Aalborg University. In July 2025, Steeper fully acquired the plant and moved it to its Aalborg East location, where the facility underwent upgrades to incorporate the latest Hydrofaction® technology. Operation of the upgraded Next-Generation Pilot Plant commenced in late 2025, and by the summer of 2026 it will be capable of producing up to 160 liters of Hydrofaction® oil per day in batch runs. The Next-Generation Demonstration Plant is expected to be ready in 2027, increasing output substantially while operating in a semi-continuous manner. 

The original Pilot Plant ran batch campaigns to further develop the Hydrofaction^® process and to test feedstocks from across the globe. The Next-Generation Pilot Plant is being used in the same way. Significant advances have been made in improving oil quality and operating parameters by being able to test changes at these facilities, and Steeper has about 5,000 hours of Hydrofaction^® oil production on its first-generation plants. All work on the Pilot Plants informs decisions related to Steeper’s commercial-scale Standard Modular Plant Design (SMPD). The Next-Generation Demonstration Plant will carry this work to greater scale and will be a huge step toward commercial deployment.