BLUU builds first industrial platform for cell-cultured marine ingredients in Europe with Dutch partner Cultivate at Scale

• The world's leading provider of salmonid cell technology, BLUU, is scaling up its process in collaboration with biotech producer Cultivate at Scale 

• BLUU has developed proprietary marine bioproduction technology that enables the industrial-scale production of complex, regenerative, next-generation marine bioactive compounds 

• Green light for the timely development of products in the personal care sector and, in the future, for the healthcare and food markets 

Hamburg/Maastricht, April 13, 2026. The German company BLUU and the Dutch company Cultivate at Scale (CaS) are establishing a joint industrial platform to produce marine ingredients. This German-Dutch cooperation is part of BLUU's localized production strategy and marks an important milestone in the company's international expansion. The project has enormous potential, bringing together the Hamburg-based start-up, Europe's leading biotechnology company in fish cell cultivation, and internationally renowned cell scaling experts from Maastricht. 

The collaboration is a partnership between equals. BLUU is providing the technology for cultivating atlantic salmon and rainbow trout as well as its expertise in marine cells for the joint project, while production partner CaS is supplying the necessary infrastructure and knowledge for setting up industrial-scale production in large-volume bioreactors. The aim of this international cooperation is to produce fish cells on a scale relevant to sales. For the first time worldwide, the two companies have produced fish cells in bioreactors with the capacity of 1,000 liters. 

The use of the facility in the Netherlands underscores the flexibility of BLUU's production approach and highlights the robustness of the process that has already been achieved. At the same time, it enables the establishment of a long-term production partnership in Maastricht and offers potential for future expansion into other European markets. This industrial expansion will enable the processes, and cell growth in particular, to be further developed and accelerated, ultimately leading to significant cost reductions. In this way, marine ingredients for a wide range of products can be offered at marketable prices, traceable, and even produced in a sustainable manner without causing animal suffering. 

One of the first areas of application for the cells produced is the personal care sector. Marine ingredients are in high demand in this attractive innovation market in particular thanks to their mode of action. 

“This joint project is a milestone in European cell cultivation and a significant step for us and it is a fine example of efficient German-Dutch cooperation,” explains Jaco van der Merwe, Managing Director of Cultivate at Scale.

“This is an important breakthrough for BLUU. Not only can we produce the ingredient, but we also ensure that our cells are produced consistently in real production environments. Biotechnology is becoming increasingly important worldwide, and cell cultivation is a promising part of this. We have already impressively demonstrated our ability to grow fish cells in bioreactors in an ocean-friendly and animal-friendly manner in recent years. We are proud to be able to show that we can implement this on an ever-larger scale and serve our first market with personal care products. At the same time, we are delighted to have such a strong partner at our side with CaS. We are convinced that together we will create a sustainable production ecosystem,” explains BLUU CEO and co-founder Dr. Sebastian Rakers. 

About BLUU 

Biotech company BLUU is the first company in Europe to specialize in the commercial production of fish cells. As a pioneer in this field, BLUU is committed to producing sustainable marine ingredients from cell cultures. The goal is to produce fish cells cost-effectively in bioreactors for products in the personal care, health care, and food sectors without causing animal suffering, thereby making a significant contribution to climate and species protection. The start-up, with locations in Hamburg and Berlin, was founded in Lübeck in 2020 by Dr. Sebastian Rakers and Simon Fabich with a team of experts from marine and cell biology. The biotech company currently employs 28 people from 12 different countries. 

More information: www.bluu.bio 

About Cultivate at Scale 

Cultivate at Scale supports companies and institutions working in the field of cellular agriculture to scale and optimize their production processes. These include, for example, meat, fish, dairy products, leather, and other animal or plant-based materials from cell cultures. CaS provides infrastructure, equipment, and expertise for scaling, including laboratory and production facilities, bioreactors, and other technologies that contribute to the industrial production of cellular agriculture products. In addition to supporting cell culture companies, CaS works with suppliers and equipment providers to demonstrate the suitability and cost-effectiveness of their solutions. 

More information: www.cultivateatscale.com