UPM Biochemicals and Nokian Tyres, a leading developer and manufacturer of premium tires, introduced a concept tire partly based on UPM BioMotion Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF). The partnership will launch UPM’s CO₂-negative Renewable Functional Fillers into a new market segment and highlights the possibilities to use a lighter weight, 100% renewable alternative to traditional CO₂-intensive fillers.

We are constantly working on innovations that advance us towards our target of increasing the share of recycled or renewable raw materials in tires to 50% by 2030. Since 2022, a portion of the carbon black used by Nokian Tyres has been made from recycled materials. We see UPM BioMotion RFF as a promising renewable alternative to traditional carbon black, and in the future, we hope to see that renewable filler materials will find their way into various tire applications, complementing an increasing share of recycled content.

—Teemu Soini, Vice President Innovations & Development at Nokian Tyres

UPM BioMotion RFF are a 100% wood-based product that can achieve the same performance level as fossil-based fillers. With a density of only 1.35 g/cm³ it’s also up to 25% lighter compared to traditional filler systems. It’s renewable and long-term biodegradable, thermally stable and meets the highest purity requirements (in terms of sulfur content). Plus, it’s free of carcinogenic PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).

Functional fillers represent approximately 30% of a tire and consist of materials such as primarily carbon black and precipitated silica. According to an initial test series by Nokian Tyres, replacing functional fillers with UPM BioMotion RFF offers great potential for more sustainable tires and therefore is a highly relevant component on the path towards sustainable mobility. Nokian Tyres will be the first tire manufacturer incorporating UPM’s Renewable Functional Fillers into their concept tire.

UPM’s BioMotion RFF are among several CO₂-negative solutions1 set to be produced at UPM’s Leuna facility. The company is investing €1,180 million to build the world’s first industrial scale biorefinery in Leuna that will convert sustainably sourced, certified hardwood into next generation biochemicals, enabling the vital shift away from fossil-based to renewable materials across a wide range of industries.

The Leuna biorefinery is part of a broader growth area, UPM Biorefining, which is scaling refineries to produce a variety of renewable fuels and chemicals made from sustainable biomass.

The first Nokian Tyres concept tire containing UPM BioMotion RFF were exhibited at the German rubber industry conference DKT 2024 in Nürnberg, Germany, 1-4 July.