Modern Meadow, the company pioneering biofabricated materials, today announced a long term partnership with Evonik, a global leader in microbial fermentation, to scale up their fermentation and collagen production. Under the agreement, Evonik will be Modern Meadow’s worldwide development partner to industrialize and scale-up collagen production for use in the company’s bioleather materials technology.
Moving beyond a joint development agreement, the companies will be working together in partnership to improve the fermentation process. They will also be optimising the yeast organisms for higher yield of collagen, leaving open the door for future collaborations in developing other proteins.
“This announcement marks a historic moment for us, as we look to scale fermentation on an order of magnitude that will enable us to move into commercial production” said Dave Williamson, Modern Meadow CTO. “Evonik is a clear leader in microbial fermentation, and their innovation and production capacity convinced us that they are the right partner for this critical programme.”
Modern Meadow’s technology utilises processes including yeast fermentation and biofabrication to create bioleather materials. Designed to sit alongside traditional leather and synthetics, Zoa bioleather materials are innovative, advanced materials which can be combined with other natural or man-made materials to offer new aesthetic and performance properties.
Evonik will leverage more than three decades of expertise in the development, scale-up and commercial production of fermentation-based products to optimise Modern Meadow’s fermentation strains and processes and bring collagen protein biofabrication to commercial scale.
“We at Evonik are honored and excited to have been selected to take part in this highly innovative program, which will see Modern Meadow’s bold vision come to life through the production of new bioleather materials addressing unmet customer needs,” said Dr. Jean-Luc Herbeaux, head of the business line health care of Evonik. “We look forward to working with Modern Meadow on the scale-up and industrialisation of their advanced collagen biofabrication technology.”
