Extracellular, a leading food tech firm, has recently unveiled its state-of-the-art pilot facility in the UK, which is now the largest cultivated meat pilot plant in Europe. The facility boasts a total capacity of 10,000 litres and has a production capacity of up to 50 tons (45.4 tonnes) of cultivated meat per year. This capacity is predicted to increase to an impressive 100 tons (90.7 tonnes) annually in the near future.
The pilot facility operates as a food-grade production facility and is currently operational at a scale of 200 litres, with a planned expansion to 2,000 litres by December 2023. It features multiple bioreactors ranging from 50 litres to 5,000 litres, which will be accessible to cultivated meat and seafood companies. Extracellular aims to provide development, scale-up, and contract manufacturing services to these companies, eliminating the need for them to invest in their own pilot-scale facilities.
The vision behind this facility is to enable cultivated meat companies to focus on their core goals of developing exceptional consumer products at affordable prices. By offering their much-needed manufacturing expertise, Extracellular aims to save businesses millions of pounds in CAPEX and significantly reduce the time required for commercialization. Dr Will Milligan, the Founder and CEO of Extracellular, emphasized the importance of this support in de-risking the scale-up process.
In addition to the Bristol pilot plant, Extracellular has strategic plans to establish dedicated scale-up sites in Asia and the Americas in the coming years. This expansion will further support the development and commercialization of cultivated meat on a global scale. The company’s expertise with various animal cell lines will enable them to assist companies from around the world. Already, Extracellular is working with more than a dozen customers across eight countries and four continents.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, the JBS Biotech Innovation Centre, which is set to become Brazil’s first cultivated protein research centre, is currently under construction. Expected to open before the end of 2024, this innovative facility will contribute to advancing the cultivated meat industry even further.
With the launch of Europe’s largest cultivated meat pilot plant and the upcoming establishment of additional scale-up sites, Extracellular is continuing to revolutionize the food manufacturing industry. By providing cutting-edge facilities and invaluable expertise, they are driving forward the development of sustainable and accessible cultivated meat products.