Empirical economic analysis shows cost-effective continuous manufacturing of cultivated chicken using animal-free medium

Abstract

Cellular agriculture aims to meet the growing demand for animal products. However, current production technologies result in low yields, leading to economic projections that prohibit cultivated meat scalability. Here we use tangential flow filtration for continuous manufacturing of cultivated meat to produce biomass of up to 130 × 106 cells per ml, corresponding to yields of 43% w/v and multiple harvests for over 20 days. Continuous manufacturing was carried out in an animal-component-free culture medium for US$0.63 l−1 that supports the long-term, high density culture of chicken cells. Using this empirical data, we conducted a techno-economic analysis for a theoretical production facility of 50,000 l, showing that the cost of cultivated chicken can drop to within the range of organic chicken at US$6.2 lb−1 by using perfusion technology. Whereas other variables would also affect actual market prices, continuous manufacturing can offer cost reductions for scaling up cultivated meat production. Data from tangential flow filtration experiments using cell culture medium without animal products are used to estimate the costs of scaled-up, continuous cultivated chicken manufacturing.