A technical description of a large-scale biotechnology facilities in Soustons, France, is presented. The equipment, designed for operational flexibility, includes the basic units for implementing individual steps of lignocellulosic biomass conversion: steam explosion pretreatment, cellulase production, enzymatic hydrolysis, aerobic and anaerobic fermentation. The results include both the large-scale experimentation of a wood (poplar)-to-ethanol process and the economics of a simulated industrial production.