BeneMeat wins the “Industrie award” in the “Česká hlava” project
BeneMeat, a Czech biotechnology startup, has won the Industrie award in the 23rd edition of the prestigious Česká hlava awards for its innovative research and technology in the field of cultivated meat. This award acknowledges the significant advancements made in providing high-quality, ethical, and sustainable nutrition, offering value not only for human consumption, but also for pet foods.
The Česká hlava award, established in 2002, is the most prestigious honour in the field of Czech science and research. Each year, it recognizes outstanding achievements in innovation, and supports the popularization of science and technology. The Česká hlava Industrie award helps scientists and researchers build public awareness of their contributions to society. The expert panel responsible for awarding this prize consists of renowned figures from academia and industry. This panel evaluates projects with the potential to bring about major innovations and to push the global industry forward.
BeneMeat was honoured for its pioneering research in meat cultivation technologies, which align with modern trends in healthy eating, ethical animal treatment, and environmental protection. The company is the first in the world to officially register its product, Cultivated cells of mammalian origin, as a feed ingredient for pet food. “This award is not only a great success for us, but also a motivation for further work. Our goal is to contribute to quality and ethical eating, as well as reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional methods of meat production. We thank the organizers of this competition, Czech Television, and especially everyone who has been involved in our journey,” Ing. Tomáš Kubeš, Head of Strategic Projects at BeneMeat, says.
With this success, BeneMeat has established itself among the leaders in biotechnology. Cultivated meat is an innovative product – real animal cells that do not develop in an animal, but are grown in a cultivator, with a nutrient-rich medium. BeneMeat has developed a unique formulation of this medium, which contains no other animal-derived ingredients. Combined with advanced cultivators, this allows cells to grow in controlled and optimal conditions. This process minimizes the risk of contamination from pathogens, parasites, hormones, or antibiotics.
“In 2025, we plan to increase the production of cultivated meat to up to 500 kg per day, making our company the largest producer of this raw material in the world. We expect this to generate revenue in the low tens of millions of CZK,” Roman Kříž, CEO of BeneMeat says, and adds other benefits: “cultivated meat provides the opportunity to obtain real animal protein without the need to kill animals, and with a lower environmental impact than most traditional animal farming methods.”
Cultivated meat represents a revolutionary step forward in ethical animal treatment, as its production requires only a small sample of cells, which multiply and grow under controlled conditions. In addition to its ethical advantages, cultivated meat is also a more sustainable alternative – it requires less land, eliminates the contamination of soil and water, and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, compared to traditional meat production. It is, therefore, becoming an ideal solution to the environmental and ethical challenges facing humanity today.
The company is now intensively working on increasing production, and collaborating with leading global pet food manufacturers to develop finished products for pets. This autumn, BeneMeat also created its first, non-saleable, cultivated beef hamburger, which, once industrially produced, will be priced similarly to super-premium beef hamburgers. The next goal is to pass the strictest safety tests set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in order to offer its meat to humans.
Cultivated meat
Cultivated meat, also known as cultured meat or cell-based meat, is real animal meat produced by directly growing animal cells in a controlled environment instead of raising and slaughtering animals. The process begins with a small sample of animal cells, which are nourished with essential nutrients and guided to form muscle, fat, and connective tissue, replicating natural biological growth. The result is meat that is biologically identical to conventional meat but can be produced more sustainably, with lower environmental impact and improved animal welfare. A term Cultivated meat refers to meat (including muscle cells, fat cells, connective tissue, blood, and other components) produced by cultivating animal cells, not by slaughtering a live animal. (Source: New Harvest – a research institute that aims to accelerate progress in cellular agriculture).
BeneMeat
BeneMeat is a biotech company, part of the BTL Group, focused on developing scalable and efficient cultivated meat production technology. Since 2020, the company has developed deep, end-to-end expertise across biology, chemistry, hardware, software, and commercial implementation of cultivated meat. With 100+ R&D experts, BeneMeat is building the complete technological ecosystem, from versatile cell line development to scalable, reliable, and cost-effective manufacturing solutions. The company is prepared to support manufacturers through all the key challenges of bringing cultivated meat to market: technical, legal, regulatory, and commercial. BeneMeat is the first in the EU to be registered as a producer of cultivated meat for pet food (Autumn 2023), proving our regulatory leadership in this space. “We are not just another company in cultivated meat, we are the technology partner shaping its future.”
For more information, contact: media@benemeat.com