By Zuzanna Szymanska

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Aleph Farms in Israel and Wacker Chemie in Germany will cooperate to enhance production of growth proteins. They aim to eliminate one of the greatest obstacles to commercial cultivated meat production.

As a means to combat climate change, cultivated meat is a meat that has been grown in a laboratory from muscle cells of animals.

The technology, however, is not as well-known and popularized by companies like Beyond Meat, NASDAQ:, or Impossible Foods. This is due to the high cost of production.

Wacker’s and Aleph have announced a deal to boost production of so-called growth medium protein, which is the key cost in producing synthetic meat.

“The proteins are either not available on the market at all or only in R&D quantities. Wacker Chemie said that current prices are 1,000 times higher than we aim for.

Both companies stated that the agreement is not exclusive and any company producing cultivated meat will be able buy proteins from Wacker for the same price.

There are many competitors, including Israel’s Mosa Meat and Future Meat Technologies and U.S.-based Upside Foods. However, only Eat Just, a California company, has the regulatory approval to sell laboratory-grown meat. This approval is valid only in Singapore.

Aleph is currently working with regulatory agencies around the globe and plans to begin selling thin-cut beef steaks in restaurants by the end of 2022, according to Didier Toubia, chief executive. The company also plans to reach mass markets within four to five years.

We expect that our product will be slightly more costly than the retail price of slaughtered beef when it reaches the marketplace. Toubia stated that we will lose money during this phase.

Aleph will still be profitable even if it is not able to reach the same price as conventional meat production, because it can cut costs more quickly than other companies that produce plant-based products.

Wacker stated that it had already produced small amounts of certain proteins for Aleph Farms’ development. He would also share details on the timeline as the company gets closer to the market.

Both companies refused to disclose financial details.