€12.5m boost to Dutch cellular agri sector with two new scale-up sites
Netherlands takes a bold step towards being a global cellular agri leader
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Two independent, open-access scale-up facilities will be funded with the view to boosting the Netherlands’ cellular agriculture sector.
The Netherlands is solidifying its status as a global leader in sustainable food innovation with significant investments to advance its protein transition.
Two new “pioneering” open-access scale-up facilities focused on advancing cellular agriculture are at the centre of a €12.5m investment grant from the Dutch National Growth Fund for Cellular Agriculture and co-financing from Nizo.
A biotechnology fermentation factory will launch in Ede, with a focusing developing stronger precision fermentation techniques. It will be powered by research organisation Nizo’s facilities and expertise.
Mosa Meat’s cell culture bioprocesses
The second site will open in Maastricht and is a spinout of Mosa Meat. It will specialise in cell culture bioprocesses, with “cutting-edge” quality control and scalability.
Mosa Meat is a food tech company with a focus on cell-based meat production.
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Food and drink businesses in the Netherlands, along with the government and governmental organisations, believe cellular agriculture offers a path towards a more resilient and diverse food system.
Producing animal-derived products, such as meat and dairy, from cells can help to reduce the environmental impacts associated with big food production. It can also help to enhance food security and health, the organisations involved have claimed.
How cellular agri will change the world
The investments focus solely on moving the country away from a reliance on animal-based food and drink.
“This scale-up collaboration is another powerful example of how we are driving innovation in food production,” says chair of the Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation, Maresa Oosterman.
“By scaling up precision fermentation and cell culture, we can diversify our protein sources and future-proof our food systems.”
The bodies and businesses working together on the project are: Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation
- Biotechnology Fermentation Factory Ede
- NIZO Food Research
- Cultivate at Scale
- Mosa Meat
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature
- The Dutch government’s National Growth Fund
