LONDON — Hoxton Farms raised $22 million in a Series A round for a new pilot facility to produce cultivated animal fat. The 13,000 square-foot startup facility will operate in London.

“At Hoxton Farms, we are obsessed with fat,” said Max Jamilly, co-founder of Hoxton Farms. “Fat is the single most important sensory component in all of the meat that we eat. Using cultivated fat alongside plant proteins, we have shown that we can make products with the juiciness and flavor that plant-based meat has been missing. We’re now building our pilot plant in central London so that we can show visitors a new way of making the same delicious meat.”

Hoxton Farms’ approach to cultivated fat is “scaled out,” using many smaller bioreactors connected through software and automation. According to the company, this approach is more cost-effective than traditional methods of building larger bioreactors.

“Cost and scale are two of the biggest challenges in the cellular agriculture industry, but they aren’t talked about enough,” said Ed Steele, co-founder of Hoxton Farms. “Since we started Hoxton Farms, we have been laser-focused on solving these problems and, thanks to our computational approach, have made significant breakthroughs. We’ve also built an incredible team, novel technology and important customer partnerships.”

The company added that the Series A funds will also enable Hoxton Farms to submit regulatory dossiers, further develop its customer partnerships and improve the cost of growing cultivated fat at a commercial scale. Additionally, Hoxton Farms expects to more than double its current staff size to 50 by the end of 2023.

Once the company receives regulatory approval, it will sell cultivated fat as a B2B ingredient for meat alternatives.