Key Takeaways
- LettUs Grow joined the £2.4 million QuBOOSTR project focused on developing UK-based rubber production.
- The initiative targets dandelion-derived latex as a sustainable alternative to traditional rubber sources.
- The project is funded through the UK Government’s Farming Innovation Programme, delivered with Innovate UK.
- The company will apply its Advanced Aeroponics™ and Aeroponic Rolling Bench™ technologies.
- The consortium brings together expertise from QuberTech, the John Innes Centre, and LettUs Grow.
LettUs Grow Expands Aeroponics Into Industrial Crops
LettUs Grow announced its participation in the QuBOOSTR consortium, a precision breeding initiative aimed at establishing a sustainable, UK-based source of natural rubber. The project focuses on domesticating dandelions, a plant that naturally produces latex in its root system, for use as an industrial rubber crop grown in controlled glasshouse environments.
The £2.4 million initiative is led by QuberTech in collaboration with the John Innes Centre and LettUs Grow. It is supported through the UK Government’s Farming Innovation Programme and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. The project is designed to address climate-related risks and supply chain vulnerabilities affecting global rubber production.
LettUs Grow Role Within the QuBOOSTR Consortium
The QuBOOSTR project aims to overcome historical barriers that limited the commercial viability of dandelion-derived rubber. By combining gene-editing techniques with advanced analytical tools, the consortium seeks to increase latex yield and quality to commercially relevant levels.
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