Israel’s Believer Meats and GEA Group, one of the world’s technology and equipment suppliers for food manufacturers, have announced a strategic partnership to make cultivated meat more affordable, accessible, and sustainable.
The collaboration will focus on co-developing technologies and processes to improve the unit economics and sustainability of cultivated meat production, starting with chicken and potentially expanding to other products.
“Believer is on track to overcome the biggest obstacles to scalability”
The collaboration follows Believer Meats’ recent MOU with AGWA, Abu Dhabi’s new food and water cluster, and a notable collaboration with the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State.
Gustavo Burger, CEO of Believer Meats, shared, “Believer is on track to overcome the biggest obstacles to scalability. By partnering with GEA—one of the world’s foremost engineering and biotech equipment manufacturers—we are taking the next step in innovating state-of-the-art technology and process engineering capabilities needed to produce cultivated meat products at the right cost.”
Maximizing yields and sustainability
Advancements will include enhancements in bioreactor technology, perfusion systems, and media rejuvenation. According to the announcement, the aim is to lower production costs, streamline technology transfer, and efficiently scale operations.
Additionally, the partnership seeks to improve the sustainability of cultivated meat production by optimizing water and power usage and implementing circular economy initiatives like waste stream utilization.
“The cultivated meat industry is forging a new path that has never been traveled”
Beyond the technological advancements, the partnership also aims to establish joint commercial ventures to leverage the strengths and resources of both companies, expanding their market reach and accelerating industry growth globally.
“The partnership with GEA will help maximize production yields efficiently and sustainably, which are top priorities for Believer. The cultivated meat industry is forging a new path that has never been traveled. We are thrilled to partner with GEA and are very optimistic about the future.”
“Engineering for a better world”
Believer Meats is building what it claims to be the world’s largest cultivated meat production facility in Wilson, NC, USA. The facility will be operational in early 2025 and will have an annual production capacity of at least 12,000 metric tons of cultivated chicken.
GEA will develop and commission proprietary bioreactors for Believer’s cell-cultivation technology, designed to achieve high cell densities and yields with centrifuge-based perfusion and cell media rejuvenation process for its chicken cell lines. A new study published in the Nature journal conducted by the Israeli firm discusses how the continuous manufacturing of cultivated meat could address the associated scalability and cost challenges facing the industry.
Meanwhile, GEA has initiated the construction of a new technology for center for plant-based, microbial, and cell-based foods in Janesville, Wisconsin set to open in 2025.
Stefan Klebert, CEO of GEA, commented, “With the global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, there is a clear need to feed more people using fewer resources.
“We share Believer’s vision that cell cultivation technology is the key to making safe, healthy meat broadly available and affordable. We are excited to partner with Believer in the development and scale-up of their operations — a collaboration aligned with our purpose: ‘Engineering for a better world.'”
