EUROPE – British cultivated meat producer Ivy Farm Technologies is announcing a significant manufacturing collaboration with Finnish biotech firm Synbio Powerlabs Oy.
This partnership aims to demonstrate the scalability of Ivy Farm’s mammalian cell cultivation in food-grade fermenters at Synbio Powerlabs’ new production plant.
Synbio Powerlabs is currently converting a large food-grade facility in Finland into a multipurpose hub for cultivated meat and fermentation-derived proteins, supported by a €2.99 million (US$3.24M) government grant.
Set to become operational early next year, the facility will feature pilot-scale equipment and production capacities of 10,000 and 27,000 liters, along with six 250,000-liter manufacturing vessels.
According to the announcement, this will make it the largest facility of its kind globally.
Located near Helsinki, the new plant is dedicated to helping alternative protein companies accelerate their market entry.
Ivy Farm will have exclusive use of the cultivated meat section of the hub, which allows the company to gain a strategic edge, reduce capital expenditure, and mitigate risks associated with scaling up.
The next phase of the partnership focuses on technology transfer and expanding production to 10,000-liter fermenters, with plans to further increase manufacturing capacity in the coming years.
Currently, Ivy Farm’s pilot plant can produce up to three tonnes of product annually, primarily for process development rather than continuous production.
Synbio Powerlabs chairman Alejandro Antalich expresses pride in leading this transformation, with support from Clingate Oy and the Finnish government.
He emphasizes that this collaboration with Ivy Farm pushes the boundaries of food production and establishes a more efficient, scalable, and environmentally friendly approach to mass-scale food production.
Finland ranks second in Europe for renewable energy usage, with the Synbio Powerlab facility powered by an energy system that is nearly 70% renewable.
Producing cultivated beef at this facility promises significant environmental benefits, including a potential 92% reduction in GHG emissions, 90% less land use, and 66% less freshwater compared to traditional farming methods.
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