Edison Agrosciences

Edison Agrosciences is a privately owned biotech company that develops sustainable, domestic sources of industrial materials. The company specializes in producing natural rubber from sunflowers, which is of higher quality than synthetic rubber alternatives. 

Sunflowers are an annual crop with a short growing season, comparatively lower water requirements, and high tolerance to stresses induced by high and low temperatures. The sunflower’s deep root structure can capture residual nitrogen in the soil that other crops cannot do, resulting in a reduction of nitrogen reaching into water supplies. 

Edison Agrosciences initially focused on genetic modification techniques to increase the rubber content from sunflowers. However, it changed its tactics to using advanced breeding instead. The company’s technology uses advanced computational breeding and agronomic techniques to increase the rubber concentration in sunflowers resulting in higher rubber yields per acre.