Scale‐up economics for cultured meat

• Published in: Biotechnology and bioengineering Vol. 118; no. 8; pp. 3239 - 3250
• Main Author: Humbird, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2021; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Amino acids; animal cell culture; Animals; bioreactor design; Bioreactors; Capital costs; Cell culture; Cell Culture Techniques; Cell density; CHO Cells; Cost analysis; Cricetulus; Culture Media; Cultured meat; Economic analysis; Economics; Fermentation; Food contamination; Growth factors; Growth rate; Hydrolysates; Mass production; Meat; Metabolism; Microbial contamination; Microorganisms; Proteins; techno‐economic analysis; fermentation; bioreactor design; techno-economic analysis; animal cell culture
• ISSN: 0006-3592; 1097-0290; 1097-0290
• DOI: 10.1002/bit.27848

This analysis examines the potential of “cultured meat” products made from edible animal cell culture to measurably displace the global consumption of conventional meat. Recognizing that the scalability of such products must in turn depend on the scale and process intensity of animal cell production, this study draws on technoeconomic analysis perspectives in industrial fermentation and upstream biopharmaceuticals to assess the extent to which animal cell culture could be scaled like a fermentation process. Low growth rate, metabolic inefficiency, catabolite inhibition, and shear‐induced cell damage will all limit practical bioreactor volume and attainable cell density. Equipment and facilities with adequate microbial contamination safeguards have high capital costs. The projected costs of suitably pure amino acids and protein growth factors are also high. The replacement of amino‐acid media with plant protein hydrolysates is discussed and requires further study. Capital‐ and operating‐cost analyses of conceptual cell‐mass production facilities indicate economics that would likely preclude the affordability of their products as food. The analysis concludes that metabolic efficiency enhancements and the development of low‐cost media from plant hydrolysates are both necessary but insufficient conditions for displacement of conventional meat by cultured meat. This analysis examines the potential of “cultured meat” products made from edible animal cell culture to measurably displace the global consumption of conventional meat. The bioreactor design, process design, and production cost implications of scaling an animal cell‐culture process like a fermentation process are investigated.