Cultivated meat leader Meatable opens new pilot facility in Leiden to scale cultivated pork development

Last Thursday (16 November), Meatable opened a 3,300m2 facility at the Bio Science Park in Leiden, the Netherlands, to further scale up cultivated pork development. The new pilot facility is double the size of Meatable’s previous office and lab space, enabling it to increase its bioreactor capacity from 50 liters to 200 liters and later to 500 liters, and ensure the company has more space to test and produce large volumes of its cultivated pork products.

When Meatable launched in 2018, it started in a 25m2 small office and another 25m2 of lab space in Leiden, near the Bio Science Park. The following year, the company moved to the DSM Biotech Campus in Delft, where it has grown to more than 90 employees. At Delft, Meatable achieved many milestones including unveiling its first cultivated pork products and achieving a world-first breakthrough with one of the fastest processes in the industry to make cultivated meat, taking only eight days to develop one single animal cell into pork.

The new Leiden facility has opened following Meatable’s US$35 million Series B round in the summer and marks an important step towards commercializing its cultivated pork products. Its location in the University area of Leiden ensures proximity to expert knowledge and state-of-the-art facilities. This will help Meatable expand its development capacity in preparation for its commercial launch in Singapore in 2024, aligning with its mission to enable widespread accessibility of cultured meat.

“It is fantastic to see how we have grown from an idea of two entrepreneurs five years ago into a mature company with a tangible product that can transform how we eat meat," said Krijn de Nood, Co-founder & CEO of Meatable. "In this new facility, we can further scale the company’s processes and accelerate commercial launch. This brings us one step closer to our mission to create delicious cultivated meat products without harming people, animals or the planet.”

In recent months there have been many positive developments in the field of cultured meat. In July, the Netherlands became the first EU member state to give the green light to enable cultivated meat tastings, following the US earlier this year which permitted two companies to market cultured meat. More regulatory developments are expected in 2024.