A specialized cell farming company Idealannounced on the 3rd that it was finally selected for the main research stage in the artificial eco-food (cultured meat) sector of the Alchymist (Alchemist) project supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The Space F research team, along with Seoul National University, Sejong University, Daesang Co., Ltd. and Lotte Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., will receive a research fund of 20 billion won over the next five years to conduct research for the development and industrialization of cultured meat production technology.
The Alchymist project is a research and development (R&D) project to solve future industrial technology challenges as a competitive task for each research theme. Starting with 6 teams, one team that produced meaningful results from the previous research was selected through a review at each stage during concept research (1 year, 6 teams) and preceding research (1 year, 3 teams) and was selected as 'this study'. The steps start this year.
Recently, interest in alternative meat is growing due to carbon neutrality, animal ethics, food security, etc., and cultured meat is evaluated as the most representative alternative meat field. Cultured meat is an alternative protein that is produced without slaughtering livestock by culturing muscle and fat stem cells in vitro, and is expected to become a representative food for the future.
According to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the size of the global substitute meat market last year was $5.348 billion, growing by 40% in 5 years compared to the size of the market in 2016 ($3.817 billion). Bloomberg predicts that the global meat substitute market will grow to $74 billion by 2030.
Byeong-Hoon Kim, CEO of Space F, said, "As global interest in future food security, global warming, animal welfare ethics, and efficient use of resources grows, the market for cultured meat, the only animal protein-based alternative to meat, is growing." Through this, we plan to advance cultured meat technology and grow into an R&D-based cell farming company.”
Space F introduced a prototype in March of last year developed by growing stem cells extracted from animal muscles in a culture medium. Recognized for its technological prowess, in August of last year, it succeeded in attracting KRW 7 billion in Series A investment, with participation from Daily Partners and Daesang Co., Ltd.
Lee Seung-ho, CEO of Daily Partners, a bio-specialized venture capital investment institution, said, “Space F is the 3rd company of D'LABS, Daily Partners’ specialized accelerating program, and has grown rapidly by strengthening its R&D infrastructure in a short period of time.” Based on industrialization research, we expect to be able to play a pivotal role in the domestic cultured meat industry in the future.”
Meanwhile, Space F played a major role in drafting the first guideline for safety management of cultured meat supervised by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and carried out the activities of the council. The Tech Incubator Program for Startup (TIPS), a private investment-led technology start-up support program hosted by the Korea Angel Investment Association, is also currently being implemented. In addition, the Korean Society of Cellular Agriculture (KSCA) was established jointly with Seoul National University's BK21 Agricultural Biotechnology Education Research Center, Livestock Science and Technology Research Institute, and Food Bio Convergence Research Institute to conduct research related to cell agriculture, including cultured meat. An international symposium was held to establish a central point for ministries and to exchange knowledge/information.
