The Cultivated B. expands into Canada with new facility

The Cultivated B. (TCB), a bioengineering company providing access to plant-based and cell-based alternative protein sources, opens its Canadian manufacturing facility and innovation hub.

Located in Burlington, Ont., the 130,000-sf facility will develop and produce bioreactors from 500 ml to 25,000 L, as well as photobioreactors and high-precision devices for cellular agriculture and precision fermentation. This will enable other businesses to produce alternative proteins at an industrial scale, whether that is in the cultivated meat, pharmaceutical, or cosmetic industries. TCB has a budget of over $50 million to invest in this facility and estimates it will have over 200 employees within Canada in the next year.

Additionally, TCB is implementing the necessary infrastructure to scale up cellular agriculture production through a strategic partnership with Ontario Genomics, a not-for-profit organization funded by the Ontario government and Genome Canada, and leading the application of genomics-based solutions.

Approx. 20,000 sf area of the new building will be dedicated to growing an innovation hub, providing smaller and mid-size cellular agriculture and other biotech companies with access to laboratory space, bioreactors and, if needed, mentorship, to test and scale up their products.

“Cells are essentially machines, and we are redesigning cells and plants to have them operate in the exact way we desire. Our new facility in Canada is a massive leap forward and a driving force behind this next industrial revolution,” says Raphael Heiner, co-founder and co-CEO of TCB. “We are striving to use natural resources more efficiently, and our innovation hub will support other businesses working toward the same goal.”

The facility will further house PreFer Industries, a subsidiary of TCB, focusing on the development of alternative, particularly plant-based protein sources through precision fermentation. PreFer Industries will keep the production of key plant-based resources within Canada and produce them with the desired proteins to optimize their use. This technology will transform a low-value resource, like grains, into something of high value.

“Canada, and specifically Ontario, has an opportunity to be at the forefront of a transformative industry. Our partnership with TCB will support biotechnology startups as they scale up their capacity to produce much needed foods and ingredients,” says Bettina Hamelin, president and CEO at Ontario Genomics. “There is undeniable growing consumer demand and huge industry momentum for these new and innovative products. This partnership is a critical next step for Canada to act on a window of opportunity to enhance resiliency in food supply chains while meeting common food security and sustainability goals.”