Helping futureproof global supply chains, a UK startup has secured both public money and venture capital to develop sustainable natural rubber and other valuable products from specially engineered dandelions.
Biotechnology company QuberTech has raised £3.4M ($4.3M) in combined grant funding and equity investment to accelerate development of its engineering biology platform and scale commercial operations.
The startup’s engineering biology platform cultivates high-yield dandelion strains capable of producing natural rubber in controlled, localised growing environments. Unlike rubber trees, which take years to mature and are limited to tropical regions, dandelions can be scaled rapidly, closer to industrial demand.
The experienced scientific team brought together at QuberTech boasts valuable expertise in plant biotechnology, genome editing and scaling transformative technologies from lab to commercial reality.
The funding combines grant and equity investment from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) (managed by Future Planet Capital) and Sustainable Ventures, the UK ecosystem for climate tech.
QuberTech has also received support through the Farming Innovation Programme at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
Resilient alternatives to rubber imports
Natural rubber is one of the world’s most strategically important industrial materials, used across sectors ranging from automotive and healthcare to manufacturing and defence. However, global supply chains are heavily reliant on imported rubber sourced from a narrow tropical growing belt increasingly exposed to climate pressures, disease, geopolitical disruption and tightening environmental regulation.
In response, the alternative approach developed by QuberTech uses advanced biotechnology to cultivate high-yield dandelions capable of producing high-quality natural rubber.
The QuberTech platform can also generate additional high-value bio-based materials, including compounds with applications across food, cosmetics, sustainable packaging and advanced biomaterials.
Rubber alternatives boost market resilience, explains Dr Ofir Meir, Chief Executive Officer of QuberTech:
“As pressure grows on global natural rubber supply chains, every country will need to secure more resilient and sustainable access to this critical industrial material. At QuberTech, we’re developing a new generation of sustainable biomaterials to create resilient, locally produced alternatives to imported natural rubber.
“We believe engineering biology can fundamentally reshape how strategically important industrial materials are produced – creating more sustainable, secure and scalable supply chains for the future.”
Huge potential of engineering biology
Demonstrating the enormous potential of engineering biology, the benefits of the new platform also extend beyond rubber, adds Oliver Sexton, Investment Director at UKI2S (managed by Future Planet Capital):
“Natural rubber keeps the world moving, yet global supply chains remain reliant on imported sources that are vulnerable to disruption. QuberTech offers a compelling sustainable alternative. Alongside rubber itself, the platform also creates valuable secondary biomaterials with applications across multiple industries.”
Innovation is key, concludes Josh Armistead-Wood, Senior Investment Associate at Sustainable Ventures:
“QuberTech is tackling a major global sustainability and supply chain challenge with a genuinely innovative biotechnology platform. We’re excited to support the team as they scale their technology, strengthen UK capability in sustainable materials, and move towards commercial deployment.”
Investment and innovation
The UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) is a national seed investment fund that supports innovative businesses emerging from the UK’s publicly funded science and knowledge base.
Independently managed by Future Planet Capital, UKI2S invests in early-stage companies across engineering, biology, defence, security, fusion energy and knowledge assets, helping to turn high-potential research and innovation into commercially viable businesses that deliver economic and societal impact. UKI2S is backed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and other public bodies.
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. As part of UKRI, it works to help companies grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and service.
Further Reading:
- More about UK biotech startup QuberTech;
- More about UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S); managed by Future Planet Capital;
- More about Sustainable Ventures, the UK’s largest ecosystem for climate tech and sustainable startups;
- More about the UK innovation agency Innovate UK; part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI);
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