Israel Innovation Authority Grants $18M To Cultivated Meat Consortium

An Israeli consortium made up of 14 companies, including some top cultivated meat companies, and 10 academic labs, has received an $18 million from the Israel Innovation Authority for a three-year duration.

The establishment of the consortium was led by Good Food Institute Israel (GFI) grantee, Gaya Savion, who is responsible for initiating and coordinating the project, and Tnuva Group, the largest Israeli food manufacturer, who also heads the consortium.

The consortium aims to develop more efficient, cost-competitive production methods and pilot scale-up opportunities that are aligned with the food industry of cultivated meat. It is part of the Israeli Innovation Authority’s Magnet Consortiums Program which advances pre-competitive generic R&D

Consortium members will also include cultured meat companies Aleph Farms and Super Meat as well as companies like Tnuva, plant-based protein expression platform BioBetter, and Seevix, as well as academic institutions like the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.

Along with the progressive development in R&D of cultivated meat technologies, Israel saw the rise of a regulatory pilot program for public distribution of cultivated meat, conducted in collaboration between Israel’s National food service (Ministry of Health) and the Israel Innovation Authority.

“The synchronization between the innovation in food technologies and regulation is crucial in ensuring that we provide these technologies with a clear path to market and capitalize on the advantages that these technologies bring,” says Alla Voldman-Rantzer, director of Strategic Alliances at GFI Israel. “Now, more than ever, governments need to find ways to ensure national food security. Alternative protein technologies, and cultivated meat, in particular, are essential components in that regard, just as they are essential in bringing forth a sustainable and just protein supply”

“This is an unprecedented governmental commitment on a global scale, in a cellular agriculture consortium and more particularly cultivated meat which will enable Israel to maintain its leadership in one of the most significant areas in Foodtech. Collaboration between leading cultivated meat companies, leading food manufacturers who bring the expertise of implementing these technologies in scale, and researchers in academia, is essential to create a breakthrough this field and to make the products accessible to the general public,” says Shai Cohen, chief innovation officer at Tnuva Group and chairperson of the consortium.