Qorium Raises €22M to Scale Production of Cultivated Leather
Qorium, a Dutch biotech company producing cultivated leather, has secured €22 million in Series A funding. Participants in the round included Invest-NL, LIOF, Brightlands Venture Partners, and Sofinnova Partners, along with an influential group of high-net-worth individuals. The Invest-NL investment has been made under the European Commission’s InvestEU guarantee scheme. Qorium is currently installing new bioreactor systems at its Maastricht facilities and has already established several commercial partnerships. The company …
EU Project FABULOSE Receives €3.5M to Develop Animal-Free Leather From Biotechnologically Produced Cellulose
A new innovation project called FABULOSE is set to receive €3.5 million from the EU to develop animal-free leather alternatives made from biotechnologically produced cellulose. 11 European partners are involved in the project, working to create scalable and sustainable bio-based production routes for animal-free leather. Novis BioBased Technology, a company specialising in biogas plants, and vegan handbag manufacturer MELINA BUCHER are also involved. Consulting and brokerage agency Steinbeis Europa Zentrum …
Evonik & AMSilk Extend Partnership to Produce Vegan Silk Proteins at Industrial Scale
Chemical company Evonik has announced an extension of its partnership with AMSilk, a producer of advanced biomaterials based on silk proteins. Building on their original agreement from 2023, the two companies have commissioned a manufacturing line at Evonik’s Slovakian biotech production hub. This will produce AMSilk’s high-performance vegan silk proteins, which are made using precision fermentation. The Slovakian facility is equipped with advanced infrastructure, upgraded systems, and renewable energy, enabling …
Cultivated Biomaterials to Launch Crowdfunding Campaign for “World’s First” Cultivated Leather Jewelry
US-based company Cultivated Biomaterials is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign for what is claimed to be the world’s first cultivated leather jewelry. The leather is produced using the cultivated skin cells of a cow named Angel, who lives at Sweet Farm sanctuary in New York state. It is tissue-engineered with a patent-pending technology platform; the process involves the use of sustainable plant-based scaffolds, novel scalable bioreactors, and fully animal-free …
Cellugy Secures €8.1M to Remove Microplastics From the Personal Care Industry With New Bio-Based Alternative
BIOCARE4LIFE, a project by Danish biotech company Cellugy, has received an €8.1 million grant from the EU’s LIFE Programme, which provides funding to projects supporting environment and climate action. The funding will be used to scale up the production of Cellugy’s biofabricated cellulose-based rheology modifier material, EcoFLEXY. Made using fermentation, the vegan-friendly material is designed to replace fossil-based carbomers, which are often considered microplastics, in cosmetics. BIOCARE4LIFE will work on …
France’s Faircraft Secures VitroLabs’ Patent Portfolio Through US Asset Acquisition
French biotechnology company Faircraft has acquired key assets from VitroLabs, a California-based firm specializing in the development of lab-grown leather. The acquisition includes a portfolio of 30 patents and expands Faircraft’s intellectual property and technological capabilities in preparation for industrial-scale production. Founded in 2016 in Silicon Valley, VitroLabs was among the first companies to produce viable samples of lab-grown leather targeting the luxury market. Its early research centered on engineering …
Meatable and Pelagen Partner to Improve Scalability of Cultivated Leather
Cultivated meat company Meatable has partnered with animal-free leather producer Pelagen to improve the efficiency and scalability of cultivated leather. Through the partnership, Pelagen will explore the use of opti-ox™ — a technology developed by Meatable co-founder Mark Kotter to program stem cells into any cell type — to enhance the production of skin tissue from animal cells. The two Netherlands-based companies will also collaborate to develop the most effective …
French Cultivated Leather Startup Faircraft Secures €15M to Meet Demand for Ethical Materials
France’s Faircraft, a cultivated leather startup based in Paris, announces it has raised €15 million to expand its team and scale up operations to meet the increasing demand for sustainable materials. Faircraft was founded in 2021 by CEO Haïkel Balti, an engineer in materials science, and biochemist César Valencia Gallardo. Leveraging cell biology and unique tissue engineering techniques, they aim to offer a new class of materials with a lower …
AMSilk and Ajinomoto Join Forces to Advance Bio-Based Silk Proteins for High-Performance, Biodegradable Textiles
German biotech company AMSilk GmbH has entered into a long-term partnership with Ajinomoto Foods Europe, an affiliate of the Ajinomoto Group, to manufacture biobased silk proteins at large scale for biodegradable textiles. The collaboration will leverage Ajinomoto’s extensive industrial expertise in precision fermentation and its strategically located site in Nesle, France. The facility is close to AMSilk’s key customers in the premium textiles and consumer goods industries. Additionally, it uses local raw …
Mark Post-Founded Qorium Unveils 35x35cm Cultivated Leather Sample as “Tangible Proof” of a Promising Future
Qorium, a Dutch biotech startup founded by cultivated meat pioneer Mark Post, has announced a significant milestone in scaling up the production of cultivated leather. Qorium’s platform combines specifically developed cultured cells with tissue engineering processes to create a product with the same strength, durability, and appearance as animal leather but without its environmental impact. Using a newly scaled-up tissue bioreactor, the biotech company says it has produced a 35x35cm …