QuberTech, based at Norwich Research Park, believes its “revolutionary” biotechnology could future-proof the production of natural rubber – a $20 billion industry that is under threat from climate change and disease.

About 14 million tonnes of natural rubber is produced globally each year for products such as vehicle tyres, gloves and conveyor belts.

The material is currently harvested from tropical plantations in southeast Asia and west Africa by extracting latex from the bark of a single tree species, Hevea brasiliensis.

“The global production of natural rubber is declining, while demand is increasing,” said Dr Ofir Meir, QuberTech CEO and co-founder.

Dr Ofir Meir, QuberTech CEO and co-founder. (Image: Supplied)

“New deforestation regulation, climate change and new diseases are all fundamentally transforming the global rubber industry, creating a supply gap of approximately one million tonnes a year.

“Natural rubber keeps the world moving. Without rubber, planes don’t fly and trucks don’t move. Without tyres the supply chain collapses.

“Synthetic alternatives lack natural rubber’s superior qualities and pose environmental risks. Therefore, we need to find another natural alternative.

“We think we’ve found it with dandelions.”

The root systems of dandelions naturally produce latex (Image: Supplied)

The root systems of dandelions naturally produce latex, but historically these levels of latex have been too low to be commercially viable.

However, QuberTech is using gene editing techniques as part of a £2.4 million government-funded precision breeding project to optimise the plants to produce more of the substance at scale.

The company says it will grow the crops in a “soil-less indoor farming environment”.

Dr Neil Clelland, co-founder and chief business officer, expects to be in “early pilot production” within the next 12 to 18 months.

“We are targeting entry markets that are higher value, better quality and lower volume, such as the medical, footwear and fashion sectors," he added.

If the pilot scheme proves to be successful, QuberTech aims to have a two-hectare commercial site producing about 3,000 tonnes of rubber within three to four years.

© Eastern Daily Press