Licence to print Leather?

Modern Meadow Inc. recently raised $10 million from Horizon Ventures (part of billionaire Li Ka-Shing’s Investment arm) to develop laboratory grown leather to manufacturers of leather goods.

This brings up a lot of interesting questions.

• Will leather grown in a laboratory be viewed as a premium/ luxury product or more in line with other alternative products such as bonded and PU leather?
• Not withstanding the amount of time it may take to commercialize such a technology and to gain traction in the manufacturing industries. Would the cost of 3D printed leather be viable or profitable?
• How is the leather grown already fully finished? is it just skin or is it grown already tanned as stated in an article?
• Currently takes 1.5 months to grow 1 sq ft of modern meadow hide. The average North American heifer yields 50 sq ft of skin at 36 months. so it would take them 75 months currently to grow the same amount?
• What is the energy and other costs needed to produce each sq ft.

Here are some articles about Modern Meadow Inc.

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/06/18/modern-meadow-raises-10m-to-grow-leather-in-labs-not-from-livestock

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-06/modern-meadow-makes-leather-and-meat-without-killing-animals

http://txchnologist.com/post/31791674302/laboratory-leather-company-to-mass-produce