Bioreactor technology and growth media for laboratory-grown meat

Background

There has been an increasing pressure on the livestock sector to meet the growing demand for high-value animal protein. The problem is that animal production contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and considerable use of resources including land and water.

A revolutionary new and promising alternative to the traditional way of producing animal proteins is growing muscle cells outside the living animal in a bioreactor, thus bypassing animal production. The muscle cells themselves are the food. This leaves us with a healthy product that is natural and like the animal it originated from.

The first laboratory-grown burger that was available for tasting in 2013 had a production cost of 2.8 mill NOK. Thus, knowing that it is possible, the current challenge now is to succeed with a large-scale production that is economically and environmentally friendly.

Objective

We will develop bioreactor technology for up-scaling muscle cell production in combination with a much-needed development of sustainable growth media. For this, we will use by-products from the food industry to tailor-make a product that can be consumed by humans. Finally, we will mix this novel animal protein with actual food products.

Overall, GrowPro will lead to sustainable production of animal proteins by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and use of land and water resources, and innovative use of by-products from the food industry, as well as value creation through more efficient protein production. GrowPro will also open for fundamentally new market potentials and business opportunities.