Dr. Joshua Flack receives $2M grant from Bezos Earth Fund

The Flack group is among the 15 global recipients of a Phase II award by the Bezos Earth Fund and the grant will be used to apply AI / ML to predict key characteristics of cell lines for cultivated meat from microscope images.

Launched in 2024, the AI Grand Challenge supports breakthrough applications of artificial intelligence. The new round builds on the success of Phase I, announced in May, which funded early-stage concepts demonstrating AI’s potential to accelerate environmental progress.

We’re excited to see the momentum of the research group at TU Delft as part of the Cell Ag NL ecosystem. More information about the grant and recipients can be found here.

€4M Cell Ag Research Call: Join the Matchmaking Event

The Netherlands Invests in the Future of Food with Two New Cellular Agriculture Scale-Up Facilities

January 14, 2025 - The Netherlands is strengthening its position as a global leader in cellular agriculture with the launch of two independent, open-access scale-up facilities. These facilities, developed in a collaboration between the Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation (CAN), Biotechnology Fermentation Factory Ede (BFF), NIZO Food Research, Cultivate at Scale (CaS), Mosa Meat, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) and the Dutch government’s National Growth Fund (NGF), mark a significant milestone in the development of sustainable food production.

Cellular agriculture offers a promising path towards a more resilient and diverse food system. By producing meat, dairy and other animal products directly from cells, this technology can significantly reduce the environmental impact associated with industrialised food production, while also enhancing food security and health. To support the growth of this upcoming industry, these new advanced facilities will provide companies working in cell culture and precision fermentation with the essential infrastructure to scale up their R&D and production processes. By removing the need for companies to invest in costly, pilot-scale production infrastructure, they will drive innovation and accelerate the commercialization of cellular agriculture ingredients and products.

Driving Cellular Agriculture Innovation through Strategic Partnerships
The Netherlands is taking bold steps to advance cellular agriculture with the establishments of two
pioneering scale-up facilities, through the National Growth Fund project “Cellular Agriculture”:

1. Biotechnology Fermentation Factory in Ede, empowered by NIZO and focusing on precision fermentation
2. Cultivate at Scale in Maastricht, an independent spin-out of Mosa Meat and focused on cell culture bioprocesses.
   
   

These facilities represent unique collaborations between industry leaders, research organizations, and the Dutch government.

Maresa Oosterman, Chair of the Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation - "After years of preparations, we’re now thrilled to announce these scale-up facilities, which are crucial for advancing cellular agriculture in the Netherlands and globally. In the past years, we have enabled cellular agriculture research programmes at universities and educational programmes to train a workforce. This scale-up collaboration is another powerful example of how we are driving innovation in food production. By scaling up precision fermentation and cell culture, we can diversify our protein sources and future-proof our food systems."

BFF-NIZO: Unlocking the Power of Precision Fermentation
The scale-up facility focused on precision fermentation Biotechnology Fermentation Factory Ede is set up in partnership with NIZO and is accepting and welcoming new customers. The facility offers direct connection to the existing NIZO food grade DSP pilot plant and food application research. The collaboration is built on NIZO’s strong experience and extensive analytical, regulatory, and commercialization services, and enables fast product and process development, product optimization, and seamless scaling. In addition to the financial support of the Dutch government, NIZO boosts the scaling success of precision fermentation through a five-million-euro co-financing commitment and Oost NL as fund manager of Perspectieffonds Gelderland B.V. will make a loan available to BFF.

Photo: Biotechnology Fermentation Factory Ede (BFF) and NIZO Food Research.

Nikolaas Vles, CEO NIZO - “We are incredibly excited about the establishment of this new scale-up facility at the NIZO site. Our combined food-grade upstream and downstream pilot facilities, state-of-the-art laboratories and scaling infrastructure, offer unparalleled opportunities to accelerate the protein transition and realize our ambitions for better food and health.”

Cultivate at Scale: Pioneering the scale-up of cell culture
In Maastricht, Cultivate at Scale has been set up to advance cell culture bioprocessing. Supported by Mosa Meat’s expertise in cultivated meat, this open-access facility is fully operational and welcoming new customers. The independent facility is run by a highly experienced team that has successfully managed production batches for multiple cellular agriculture companies. Its operations are supported by world-class suppliers of cell feed, cell lines and bioreactors. The production environment has advanced Quality Control processes in place, which has supported the creation of multiple Novel Foods submission dossiers in the past. 

Photo: Cultivate at Scale (CaS), in Maastricht

Jaco van der Merwe, Managing Director of Cultivate at Scale - “I am thrilled to announce the launch of Cultivate at Scale, a new independent, open-access scale-up facility dedicated to advancing cell culture bioprocesses. This groundbreaking initiative, made possible by the financial support of the Dutch government, Mosa Meat’s expertise in cultivated meat production and the collaboration of partners across the cellular agriculture ecosystem, represents a major step forward for our industry. Together with our dedicated team, we look forward to helping companies bridge the gap from research to scalable production, accelerating the global transition to sustainable and innovative food systems.”

The Netherlands: A Global Hub for Cellular Agriculture
The Netherlands is a food production powerhouse, has been a global front-runner in biotechnology for over 155 years and was the first country to introduce cultivated meat to the world in 2013. It has created a thriving ecosystem for cellular agriculture over the past few years, supported by public investment, including public research at the universities TU Delft, Wageningen University & Research and Maastricht University, specialised education programs, a collaborative network of businesses and an active ‘code of practice’ that allows for pre-approval tastings for cultivated food products. The scale-up infrastructure initiative announced today further strengthens the country's commitment to sustainable food innovation and reinforces its position as a global hub for cellular agriculture.

ABOUT THE PARTNERS

About CAN
The Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation (CAN) was founded in 2021. This foundation exists to stimulate Cellular Agriculture in the Netherlands and worldwide. CAN raises funds for this and takes responsibility for making this sector flourish by leading and implementing programs.
The foundation achieves its goal by building a complete Dutch ecosystem for cellular agriculture, based on five pillars: Education, Research, Scale-up, Social integration and Innovation.
More information: en.cellulaireagricultuur.nl.
Contact: Ira van Eelen E: ira@cellulaireagricultuur.nl T: +316 5346 0633

About Biotechnology Fermentation Factory (BFF )
Biotechnology Fermentation Factory Ede is a leading innovation hub for the cellular agriculture and precision fermentation industries. Based in Ede, BFF provides cutting-edge, open-access scale-up facilities to support companies in advancing their research and production processes. With its state- of-the-art infrastructure, including food-grade pilot facilities and advanced laboratories, BFF accelerates the development and commercialization of sustainable food solutions.
More information: www.bff-ede.com.
Contact: Marcel Oogink, Managing Director, E : marcel.oogink@bff-ede.com, T: +31 318 659511

About NIZO Food Research
NIZO is a globally leading, private, and independent contract research organization specializing in food and health innovation for over 75 years. Operating the largest open access food-grade pilot plant in Europe, NIZO leverages the integrated power of science and technology to help customers in transforming food and nutrition more successfully, sustainably and faster; ultimately leading to better food and health.
More information: www.nizo.com.
Contact: Celine Brattinga, Marketing & Communications Manager E: celine.brattinga@nizo.com, T : +31 318 659211

About Cultivate at Scale
Cultivate at Scale is a new independent, open-access scale-up facility located in Maastricht, the Netherlands, dedicated to advancing cell culture bioprocesses. It was made possible by the financial support of the Dutch government through the National Growth Fund as well as that of Mosa Meat. The facility has forged partnerships across the cellular agriculture ecosystem, to offer services in addition to the use of the facility, like bulk purchasing of low-cost cell feed ingredients, quality control and regulatory consulting. A dedicated and highly experienced team is helping companies bridge the gap from research to scalable production, accelerating the global transition to sustainable and innovative food systems.
More information: www.cultivateatscale.com.
Contact: Jaco van der Merwe, Managing Director E: jaco@cultivateatscale.com

About the National Growth Fund
With the National Growth Fund, the Dutch government invests more than €11 billion in 50 projects that contribute to structural and durable economic growth of the Netherlands. Ultimately, we all reap the benefits of long-term economic growth with positive social effects.
The National Growth Fund is an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. Collectively, these Ministries manage the fund on behalf of the government. An independent advisory committee assessed projects and issued recommendations to the government about the project grants.
More information: www.nationaalgroeifonds.nl/english

CAN Community Conference | 9-10 october, 2024