Investment platform CULT Food Science Corp. recently announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to develop the “Institute of Cellular Agriculture” in collaboration with the University of Alberta and New Harvest Canada, according to a release.
The innovative strategic partnership will offer infrastructure, support and funding opportunities to innovators and researchers through a platform created for new ventures and the development of property centered on enhancing the future of food with cellular agriculture.
“We are at the horizon of an explosion of new ideas and ventures that will accelerate the global cellular agriculture industry. We are excited to be able to accelerate the launch and development of new ventures and ideas from individual founders, to supporting classic enterprises who want to adopt cellular agriculture as part of their strategy with our support,” said Lejjy Gafour, CEO of CULT Food Science.
Based at the University of Alberta’s Agri-Food Discovery Place, the associated partnership will facilitate collaboration to develop and commercialize new technology across a national network. The collaboration will work to progress new companies concentrated on cellular agriculture research and innovation while providing work-integrated learning opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students that are spearheading the emerging industry.
“Cellular agriculture is at a pivotal stage and needs the proper infrastructure to allow co-creation of innovation to deliver on its promises. Canada — and Edmonton, Alberta, in particular — can provide the optimal environment to support cross-disciplinary collaboration and advance our research in areas like artificial intelligence and machine learning. This new partnership will leverage the University of Alberta’s legacy in bioprocess engineering to bring novel technologies and innovations to the Canadian agri-food sector,” commented Isha Datar, executive director of New Harvest.
Research at the University of Alberta and throughout the collaboration network will inform the food regulatory arena of growing policy and regulations and will offer skilled personnel to fill labour needs.
“This partnership with New Harvest Canada and its innovation partners will be pivotal in how our research and teaching addresses climate change, industry sustainability, and food security issues,” added Heather Bruce, chair of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta. “New Harvest Canada and Cult Food Science will join a nexus of startup companies at the U of A’s Agri-Food Discovery Place that is launching agriculture and food production into the 21st century.”
