A method of producing self-renewing endoderm progenitor cells comprising: a) culturing pluripotent stem cells in serum-free medium comprising Activin A or Nodal, to effect the induction of definitive endoderm cells and endoderm progenitor cells, wherein said pluripotent stem cells preferably comprise embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells, and wherein the serum-free medium optionally further comprises • Wnt3A • a GSK3 inhibitor, wherein the GSK3 inhibitor is preferably CHIR 99021, or • TGF-β, latent TGF-β binding proteins, Nodal, a GSK3 inhibitor, Follistatin-related protein (FSRP), Dickkopf-related protein 1, IndolactamV, and insulin-like growth factor, wherein the culturing is preferably carried out as an adherent culture; and b) culturing the resultant cells from step a) in a suspension culture comprising a basement membrane preparation with BMP4, VEGF, FGF2, and EGF in serum-free medium to selectively promote the growth of self-renewing endoderm progenitor cells, wherein the suspension culture preferably further comprises • Activin A, or • TGFβ, and wherein the basement membrane preparation is preferably present at a final concentration of about 0.06-0.6 mg/mL, preferably at a final concentration between about 0.3 mg/mL and about 0.6 mg/mL, and wherein the suspension culture is preferably dissociated and reaggregated about every 5 days, wherein said suspension culture is preferably maintained in spinner flasks which are preferably operated at about 40-70 rpm, and wherein the endoderm cells in step (b) are preferably cultured in suspension at an initial concentration of about 250,000-2,000,000 or 250,000-500,000 cells/ml. a) culturing pluripotent stem cells in serum-free medium comprising Activin A or Nodal, to effect the induction of definitive endoderm cells and endoderm progenitor cells, wherein said pluripotent stem cells preferably comprise embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells, and wherein the serum-free medium optionally further comprises • Wnt3A • a GSK3 inhibitor, wherein the GSK3 inhibitor is preferably CHIR 99021, or • TGF-β, latent TGF-β binding proteins, Nodal, a GSK3 inhibitor, Follistatin-related protein (FSRP), Dickkopf-related protein 1, IndolactamV, and insulin-like growth factor, wherein the culturing is preferably carried out as an adherent culture; and • Wnt3A • a GSK3 inhibitor, wherein the GSK3 inhibitor is preferably CHIR 99021, or • TGF-β, latent TGF-β binding proteins, Nodal, a GSK3 inhibitor, Follistatin-related protein (FSRP), Dickkopf-related protein 1, IndolactamV, and insulin-like growth factor, b) culturing the resultant cells from step a) in a suspension culture comprising a basement membrane preparation with BMP4, VEGF, FGF2, and EGF in serum-free medium to selectively promote the growth of self-renewing endoderm progenitor cells, wherein the suspension culture preferably further comprises • Activin A, or • TGFβ, and wherein the basement membrane preparation is preferably present at a final concentration of about 0.06-0.6 mg/mL, preferably at a final concentration between about 0.3 mg/mL and about 0.6 mg/mL, and wherein the suspension culture is preferably dissociated and reaggregated about every 5 days, wherein said suspension culture is preferably maintained in spinner flasks which are preferably operated at about 40-70 rpm, and wherein the endoderm cells in step (b) are preferably cultured in suspension at an initial concentration of about 250,000-2,000,000 or 250,000-500,000 cells/ml. • Activin A, or • TGFβ,