Global investments in cultured meat (and cultured seafood) companies tripled on average annually from 2016 to 2022, for a total of USD 2.8 billion in those six years. In Europe, investments in cultured meat increased in 2022 as compared to 2021, despite a decrease globally.

 

In 2022, more than 150 companies were exclusively focused on cultured meat (and cultured seafood) worldwide.[1] Of these, 24 are based in the EU, concentrated in Germany (6), the Netherlands (5) and France (3).[2]

 

Major diversified food companies are also involved in the cultured meat industry through investment, acquisition, partnership, or R&D and manufacturing of inputs. This includes companies headquartered in the EU or EFTA countries such as CP Kelco ApS, Kerry Group, Merck KGaA, and Nestlé.

 

The Dutch government announced EUR 60 million in funding for cultured meat and precision fermentation in 2022, which represents the largest public sector investment in these alternative proteins to date.[3]

 

EU funding

 

Since 2005, R&D support for cultured meat at EU level and in the member states has been pivotal, with key investments including:[4]

 

• EUR 2.7 million to BioTechFoods’ ‘Meat4all’ project in 2020, marking the EU’s first public investment in cultured meat.[5] 
• EUR 2.5 million to ORF Genetics in 2020 for growth factor research.[6]
• EUR 2 million to Mosa Meat’s ‘Feed for Meat’ project in 2021, to lower cell culture media costs.[7] 
• EUR 10 million seed-funding to Gourmey in 2021, co-funded by the European Commission and Bpifrance.[8]

 

At the Member State level, funding and co-funded R&D programmes include:

• EUR 5.2 million in 2021 from the Spanish government to BioTech Foods to assess health benefits of cultured meat.[9]
• EUR 3 million in 2019 through Eurostars to Meatable to manufacture meat cells without the need to slaughter an animal as the precursor to cell differentiation and growth.[10]
• EU 3.6 million to a Belgian consortium to grow fat and liver cells for producing foie gras.

 

The European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) also launched the ‘Cultivate Meat Innovation Challenge’ in 2022, and will award EUR 100,000 to each of four projects in an effort to incentivise research that will drive down the cost of cell culture media. The initial funding round is expected to lead to ‘substantially more funding’.[11]

 

While Europe has made significant contributions to cultured meat developments, countries like the US, Singapore, and Israel are also leading in investments and technological advancements. The US is responsible for more than 60% of all investments in cultured meat – more than all other countries combined, followed by Israel (almost 22%), the Netherlands (almost 6%) and Singapore (almost 5%).[12]

 

The European approach has been more focused on public-private collaborations, while the US, for instance, has seen larger private investments (CRS 2023).

 

Start-ups

 

Start-ups in this sector face both opportunities and challenges. While there is significant investment and growth potential in the sector, the survival and growth rates of start-ups depend on factors such as:

• their ability to secure funding;
• reduce production costs, and;
• scale up operations effectively.

 

The high costs of cell culture media and the need for suitable bioreactors are among the challenges that start-ups face. The fate of these start-ups often relies on technological breakthroughs, market acceptance, and regulatory landscapes (Chodkowska, Wodz and Wojciechowski 2022).

 

Patent filings for cultured meat technology are led by the US and Asian countries. Only three of the top ten companies filing patents in Europe are based there.[13]