Ebara Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "Ebara") has begun joint research and development of a large-capacity cell encapsulation device with Cellfiber Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Cellfiber"), a cell mass production technology development startup.
Started joint research and development with Cellfiber

1. Background
In recent years, cellular agriculture, a new food production method that uses cell culture technology, has been attracting attention from around the world. As the population continues to grow in the future, there are concerns about food issues such as protein shortages, but it is said that it will be difficult to solve these problems through traditional livestock farming and agriculture alone. In addition, expanding production brings with it environmental issues such as increased greenhouse gas emissions and the depletion of fishery resources, as well as issues in terms of animal welfare.
2-1 Overview
CellFiber uses a special cell encapsulation technology called "CellFiber*" to achieve "high-production culture" by cultivating high-quality cells at high densities. This technology can dramatically increase production volume per culture tank, and is expected to be used for a variety of applications in cellular agriculture, including cultured meat.
Ebara will use the fluid control technology and equipment design know-how it has cultivated to design and develop a scale-up version of the cell encapsulation device, accelerating the realization of the cellular agriculture business.
3. Future developments
By developing large-capacity cell encapsulation equipment and mass culture equipment, we aim to streamline cell production technology and promote the widespread use of cellular agriculture in society. Going forward, we will continue to contribute to "creating an ever-evolving and prosperous lifestyle," as stated in our long-term vision, "E-Vision 2030."
The EBARA Group will address key ESG issues based on its long-term vision and medium-term management plan, aiming to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and further increase its corporate value.
Cellfiber Inc.opens in a new tab
A startup spun out of the University of Tokyo and established in April 2015. The company's core technology is "cell fiber," a world-first technique for forming string-like cell masses, and it has demonstrated that this technology is effective for mass-production of cells. Currently, he is mainly working on the development of cell mass production technology for medical use, and as part of that, he is developing a cell encapsulation device so that cell fiber technology can be widely used by businesses involved in the cell industry.