Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub - University of Bath

What Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub - University of Bath does

The Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) is a research initiative hosted at the University of Bath, established in 2016 to transform food production through cellular agriculture and cultivated meat technology development. The hub operates from the University of Bath's campus at Claverton Down, Bath, England, and functions as one of the university's seven research institutes. CARMA is positioned to advance the science, bioprocessing, and regulatory framework for cultivated meat as a sustainable alternative to conventional livestock agriculture, serving academic researchers, industry partners in the food and biotechnology sectors, and the broader cultivated meat ecosystem through knowledge generation and policy guidance.

CARMA's core capability lies in its research facilities for cellular agriculture, including lab-grown meat technology development. As a research-focused initiative rather than a commercial enterprise, the hub generates research outputs, peer-reviewed publications, and regulatory recommendations rather than commercial products or services. The technical work centers on bioprocess development for cultivated meat — cell culture methodologies, scaffold design, and scalable manufacturing approaches. CARMA operates within the University of Bath's broader institutional research themes of Sustainability, Health & Wellbeing, and Digital, positioning cellular agriculture within the institution's sustainability agenda. The University of Bath itself is structured across three Faculties, sixteen Departments, one School, and seven research institutes supporting interdisciplinary collaboration from a single campus location.

CARMA operates as a publicly-funded research initiative rather than a venture-backed commercial entity, deriving its operating budget from research grants and institutional support rather than product sales or service fees. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) provided approximately $14.9 million in grant funding in April 2023, representing the hub's primary disclosed funding event and likely supporting multi-year operations. Pricing is not applicable; the hub is grant-funded and operates through institutional and industry partnerships. The University of Bath's broader revenue base was £417 million in the 2024/25 financial year, drawn from tuition fees, research grants, and enterprise partnerships, but CARMA-specific revenue streams are not separately disclosed. The hub's primary stakeholder segments include the EPSRC and other potential grant-funders, academic collaborators, industry partners developing cultivated meat products, and policymakers shaping cellular agriculture regulation in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Name

Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub - University of Bath

Legal name

The University of Bath

Website

https://bath.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub at the University of Bath is a research initiative developing cultivated meat bioprocesses and cellular agriculture science. Founded in 2016, it operates within the University of Bath's research institute framework, funded primarily by EPSRC grants and institutional partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cellular Agriculture Research

NAICS

Other Food Manufacturing (3119)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultivated Meat Producers (Cell-Cultured Meat & Seafood) (AFANAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cell Line Development & Banking (Food/AG Cell Lines) (AFANAKAE), Bioprocessing & Fermentation Manufacturing (Bioreactors, Scale-Up, Toll/CMO) (AFANAKAF)

Keywords

• Cellular agriculture research
• Cultivated meat technology
• Bioprocess manufacturing
• Sustainable protein research
• Food innovation research

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CARMA (Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub) is a University of Bath research initiative that conducts interdisciplinary research into the science, regulation, and bioprocess manufacturing of cultivated meat and cellular agriculture. The hub develops the technical, regulatory, and industrial foundations needed to scale cellular agriculture from laboratory research to commercial food production, targeting sustainable alternatives to conventional animal agriculture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cellular Agriculture Research Program (CARMA)
• Research Collaboration and Innovation Partnerships

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University utilizes framework agreements established by SUPC for procurement. SUPC is committed to ensuring modern slavery and human trafficking does not exist within their supply chains and requires suppliers in high-risk industries to commit to the Base Code of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).
• The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University is a member of TUCO, which has published its own Modern Slavery Act 2015 Statement as part of UK Universities Purchasing Consortia (UKUPC).
• The Energy Consortium (TEC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University is a member of TEC, which has published its own Modern Slavery Act 2015 Statement as part of UKUPC.
• Electronics WatchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University can seek expert guidance and support from Electronics Watch via its relationship with SUPC for purchasing electronic equipment. Electronics Watch brings together public sector buyers and civil society organisations to guide procurement demand for decent working conditions.
• Crown Commercial Service (CCS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University procures goods and services from frameworks established by CCS. All suppliers appointed to relevant CCS frameworks have taken a modern slavery assessment using a CCS designed tool.
• Higher Education Procurement AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University has access to a suite of resources on modern slavery and human rights provided by the Higher Education Procurement Academy for guidance and tools.
• Office for Students (OfS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University is regulated by the Office for Students as an exempt charity under the Charities Act 2011. OfS requires publication of transparency information including student attainment data.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Upside Foods: Leading cultivated meat company developing cell-cultured chicken, beef, and duck. Directly comparable to Bath's hub as both target cell-cultured meat production, though Upside is at a commercial scale-up stage versus Bath's research-stage focus.
• Mosa Meat: Pioneering cultivated beef company that produced the first lab-grown hamburger in 2013. Operates in the same cellular agriculture space as Bath's hub, focused on scaling cell-cultured meat production.
• Eat Just (GOOD Meat): Cultivated meat division of Eat Just, which received the world's first regulatory approval for cultivated meat (Singapore, 2020). Closely comparable cellular agriculture platform with a focus on commercializing cell-cultured chicken.
• Aleph Farms: Israeli cultivated meat company producing cell-cultured beef steaks. Direct peer in cultivated meat R&D and commercialization, with regulatory approvals in multiple markets including Israel and Singapore.
• BlueNalu: US-based cultivated seafood company developing cell-cultured fish products. Comparable to Bath's hub as a cellular agriculture platform targeting alternative protein production.
• Believer Meats: Cultivated meat company (formerly Future Meat Technologies) building large-scale production facilities for cell-cultured chicken and beef. Direct competitor in cellular agriculture manufacturing scale-up.
• Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA): Academic research center at Tufts University focused on cultivated meat and cellular agriculture research. Most directly comparable to Bath's hub as a university-based cellular agriculture research center.
• Wageningen University - Cellular Agriculture Netherlands: Dutch university research program with strong cellular agriculture and alternative protein research capabilities. Comparable to Bath's hub as a European university-based cellular agriculture research initiative.

Emerging players

• Perfect Day: Precision fermentation company producing cell-cultured dairy proteins. Adjacent to Bath's hub in the broader cellular agriculture space, though focused on dairy rather than meat applications.
• New Culture: Cellular agriculture company producing animal-free mozzarella cheese via precision fermentation. Comparable to Bath's hub as a cellular agriculture platform, though focused on dairy protein production rather than cultivated meat.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/uniofbath
• Facebookfacebook.com/uniofbath
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-of-bath
• Instagraminstagram.com/uniofbath
• TikToktiktok.com/@uniofbath

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub - University of Bath