Dutch government agrees to invest €60M in cellular agriculture
We are excited to share that the Dutch government announced today it will be earmarking € 60 million to support the formation of an ecosystem around cellular agriculture. This represents the largest public funding into the cellular agriculture field ever, globally.
The funding represents a first step towards a larger growth plan proposing to invest € 252–€ 382 million in cellular agriculture as part of the National Growth Fund, which aims to create structural economic growth by investing in innovative economic sectors. The funds will be used to stimulate cellular agriculture education, academic research, publicly accessible scale-up facilities, societal integration (including farmers and consumers) and innovation.
Mosa Meat is a proud founding member of the newly formed consortium Cellular Agriculture Netherlands, which made the proposal. Member organisations include academia, NGOs, startups and other industry players.
Minister Micky Adriaansens of Economic Affairs and Climate and committee chair Jeroen Dijsselbloem at a press conference to announce the second round of the National Growth Fund.
“We are very excited for the visionary leadership the government is demonstrating today,” said Ira van Eelen, on behalf of the Dutch Cellular Agriculture Foundation. “The Netherlands is the ideal place for cellular agriculture to flourish. It has a rich history in laying the global foundations of cellular agriculture. It is the 2nd biggest exporter of traditional agricultural products after the US. It is a global powerhouse in alternative protein and food innovation. It has a global frontrunner position in biotechnology. And it was the first country to publicly fund cultivated meat research and present a proof of concept to the world.”
The investment in cellular agriculture is projected to generate an incremental €10 - €14 billion in Dutch GDP growth per year by 2050, with significant global climate, environmental and health benefits. This includes avoiding ~12 Mton CO2-eq. emissions and 100-130 kton ammonia per year in 2050.
We hope that this impulse will attract more companies, more funding, and more collaboration across the cellular agriculture field in The Netherlands over the next few years.
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