Agronomics investee CellX opens China cultivated meat plant

Cellular agriculture investor Agronomics announced on Thursday that its Shanghai-based investee CellX had opened a pioneering cultivated meat pilot factory in China.

The AIM-traded firm said the development paved the way for a potential commercial debut by 2025.

It said the unveiling of the facility, dubbed ‘Future Food Factory X’, came on the heels of a strategic alliance formed between CellX and food manufacturing specialist Shanghai Tofflon Science and Technology.

The collaboration, announced in February, was followed by a successful $6.5m aeries A+ financing round for CellX in June.

CellX had revealed its cell-cultured pork to a select group in 2021, and was actively seeking regulatory green lights in Singapore and the US, aiming for a market introduction by 2025.

Equipped with unique cell cultivation technology, Agronomics said the pilot factory boasted advanced, fully-digitalised intelligent management systems.

Marking a first for China, it said the facility would serve as a ‘transparent food space’ dedicated to cultivated meat.

“CellX will look to target the high-end market, with further plans to introduce mass-market products as it continues to scale up and reduce costs in the future,” the Agronomics board said in its statement.

“The materially lower cost of bioreactors compared to the US and Europe, combined with the Chinese government's incentives for cultivated meat as part of its five-year plan, is expected to contribute to the efforts to lower prices.

“Agronomics has invested a total of $2.05m in CellX since its inception in 2020, and has an equity ownership of 4.98% on a fully-diluted basis.”

At 1610 BST, shares in Agronomics were up 3.05% at 10p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.