Biomade: reducing cost drivers for cell cultured chocolate

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems awarded a $450,000 project grant to the University of California, Davis under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) on August 1, 2025, with a completion date of July 31, 2027. This award supports research to reduce cost drivers in cell-cultured cacao production through development of low-cost bioreactor systems and process optimization. The project will deliver custom-designed high-density polyethylene bubble bioreactors, alternative sanitization and sterilization strategies, process intensification methods utilizing semicontinuous operation with real-time biomass monitoring, low-cost drying technologies, and comprehensive technoeconomic analysis (TEA) and life cycle analysis (LCA) models to guide research and ensure economic viability and sustainability of the platform.

In partnership with sub-awardee California Cultured Inc., the project will produce validated bioreactor prototypes with computational fluid dynamics models, pilot-scale process data for semicontinuous cacao cell production and biomass drying, and detailed TEA and LCA reports. The research directly addresses supply chain vulnerabilities in the $24 billion U.S. chocolate industry by establishing domestic cacao production under controlled conditions, while generating methodologies and insights applicable to other plant and algal cell culture production systems. Additionally, the project includes workforce development components to prepare students for careers in the emerging bioeconomy sector.

Abstract

The US chocolate industry is nearly $24 billion in size. IT depends on cocoa imported from a few tropical countries. Cocoa prices are vulnerable to extreme weather, disease outbreaks, political instability, and a growing global demand. The price reached an all-time high of $12,565 per metric ton in december 2024. Producing cacao in the US under controlled conditions could stabilize the supply chain. This project attempts to produce cacao from plant cells grown in low-cost reactor systems. This would guarantee a steady supply of cacao produced in the US. The project is focused on improving the production of cacao in plant cell cultures. IT will also evaluate low-cost materials of construction for the reactor systems. The project will help in training students to participate in the future bioeconomy workforce. Manufacturing cacao would be expensive using current technology. An economic analysis of the technology required points to several key costs. Bioreactors are traditionally made of steel and are sterilized using high-pressure steam. Steel construction is expensive. High pressure steam is expensive, contributing to high annual operating costs. The productivity of batch cultivation of cacao is low, further contributing to high annual costs. To address these limitations, the team will pursue several strategies. High-density polyethylene (hdpe) bubble bioreactors will be custom designed. Alternate sanitization strategies will be evaluated. Process intensification strategies based on semicontinuous operation assisted by real-time in-line biomass monitoring will be developed, along with low-cost drying methods, to increase volumetric productivity and product quality. Technoeconomic analysis (tea) and life cycle analysis (LCA) models will be developed to guide the process research and development efforts to ensure economic viability and sustainability. Results from this project directly apply to other plant cell and/or algal cell bioreactor-based processes, as well as other fermentation processes that require lower capital and operating costs, particularly microbial/fungal production of food and commodity industrial products. This project is being jointly supported by ENG/cbet/CBE and the biomade manufacturing innovation institute. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.