Nokian Tyres and the Swedish biomaterials company Reselo AB have signed a development agreement to develop further their renewable material Reselo Rubber as a new raw material in tires. Reselo Rubber is a completely renewable material made from birch bark that comes from residues from the global pulp, paper and... Read more →

Continental will offer automated tire tread depth measurements for the first time using its new ContiConnect sensor generation. Fleet operators are now able to obtain precise and daily updated data on the rate of wear of their commercial vehicle tires. In conjunction with AI-based algorithms, upcoming tire services for individual... Read more →

Trederra, a provider of sustainable material recycled rubber solutions for the footwear market, announced an exclusive supply agreement with Tyre Recycling Solutions (TRS) of Switzerland supporting the production of Trederra footwear outsoles made from end-of-life tires. TRS will supply Trederra with CT-50 rubber powder which is manufactured using the patented... Read more →

The Mitsubishi Chemical Group has launched studies to perform chemical recycling of end-of-life tires (ELTs) by utilizing the coke ovens at its Kagawa Plant (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture). The MCG Group aims to begin marketing sustainable carbon black made from ELTs by March 2026. Along with the accelerating trend in... Read more →

Continental has concluded a long-term purchase agreement with Pyrum Innovations, a specialist in the thermolysis technology of end-of-life tires, for particularly high-quality carbon black (rCB) recovered from end-of-life tires. Pyrum thermolysis involves the thermal decomposition of organic substances or rubber and plastic waste in the absence of oxygen. The process... Read more →

Edison Agrosciences, an industrial biomaterials company leveraging crop agriculture and technology, has closed a $600,000 seed financing round. This investment was made possible by the support of current and new investors, including BioGenerator, Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), Crisp & Company, LLC and others. Edison Agrosciences is developing more sustainable, domestic... Read more →

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%... Read more →

Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI), in collaboration mainly with Makina Saito, Associate Professor at Tohoku University; Takaki Hatsui, Group Director at RIKEN; and Yoshitaka Yoda, Senior Scientist at the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, has developed a new synchrotron radiation technique capable of measuring atomic, molecular, and nanostructure motion in a... Read more →

LD Carbon, a producer of recovered carbon black, closed a $28-million Series C funding round led by Toyota’s growth fund, Woven Capital, with participation by Meritz Securities, Investwith, Industrial Bank of Korea, Hyundai Motor Group ZER01NE, Elohim Partners and New Main Capital. LD Carbon will use the investment to scale... Read more →

Neste, Borealis and Covestro have signed a project agreement to enable the recycling of discarded tires into high-quality plastics for automotive applications. The collaboration aims at driving circularity in plastics value chains and the automotive industry. When no longer fit for use, tires are liquefied by means of chemical recycling... Read more →

bp has signed an eight-year offtake agreement with Circtec, a UK-based technology company that develops and operates innovative pyrolysis chemical process technology and that converts hard-to-recycle waste tires into HUPA—Circtec’s proprietary renewable drop-in marine fuel, and circular naphtha petrochemical feedstock. = Under the agreement bp is committed to purchasing up... Read more →

Michelin is proposing three tire ranges for the new Porsche Macan EV. The advent of the electric car caused disruption in the world of tires. To satisfy the ambitious design brief of the new electric Porsche Macan, Michelin drew on its know-how and in-depth knowledge of electric vehicles. This is... Read more →

Apollo Tyres is partnering with India’s NATRAX, a provider of testing and validation services, to establish the first of its kind test track in India, specifically designed to validate tires for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and low-rolling-resistance tires. This collaboration aims to provide a dedicated testing facility for EV manufacturers, enabling... Read more →

Pyrolysis oil derived from discarded tires was processed into high-quality raw material for chemicals and plastics at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland. In its efforts to advance chemical recycling, Neste has successfully conducted its first processing trial run with a new challenging raw material, liquefied discarded tires. In the processing... Read more →

Continental has acquired the mold manufacturing specialist EMT s.r.o., based in Puchov, Slovakia. All shares of Continental’s long-standing supplier were transferred to Continental effective 2 April 2024. The tire manufacturer had entered into a respective agreement with EMT’s shareholders, Dynamic Design (Romania) being the majority shareholder. All 107 employees, who... Read more →

Sumitomo Rubber has developed a new simulation technique called Tire Aerodynamic Simulation,which is used in the process of tire development. In order to reduce the electricity consumption of electric vehicles (EVs), it is important to minimize tire rolling resistance as well as air resistance around the tire. Sumitomo is pursuing... Read more →

Made from a mixture of natural and synthetic rubber and plastic polymers, including other chemical components, tires represent a significant source of non-exhaust emissions. Tire abrasion is produced when there is friction with the road surface, for example when vehicles turn, accelerate or brake. Small particles break off from tires... Read more →

Plastic microparticles released into the environment from common road tires should be treated as a “high concern” pollutant, that may exceed chronic safety limits in some heavily contaminated environments, new research has shown. A team of researchers from the University of Plymouth and the University of Exeter in the UK... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Gatik, a leader in autonomous middle-mile B2B logistics, announced the expansion of the industry’s first, successful integration of tire intelligence technology into an autonomous driving system. Gatik's autonomous fleet, consisting of Class 3–7 box trucks, has made significant strides in enhancing the safety,... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and ZF announced successful integration of tire intelligence technologies with vehicle motion control software. The collaboration delivers Goodyear SightLine, a suite of tire intelligence technologies, into the ZF cubiX ecosystem, a scalable vehicle motion control software that coordinates all dimensions of vehicle dynamics. This... Read more →

At CES 2024, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company unveiled the latest tire in the ElectricDrive family: The Goodyear ElectricDrive 2, an all-season electric vehicle (EV) tire enhanced with sustainable materials, improved rolling resistance and long- lasting tread life to maximize drivers’ EV performance. The new ElectricDrive 2 contains at... Read more →

Steel wire company Bekaert has delivered the first batches of third-party certified recycled steel to Bridgestone Corporation. Bekaert said that the successful pilot is the first step toward setting a new industry standard for recycled content in tire reinforcement, and to making certified tire reinforcement with high recycled content available... Read more →

Bridgestone Corporation has been named by the FIA at the World Motor Sport Council in Baku as sole future tire supplier for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship starting in the 2026-2027 season. Bridgestone’s selection by the FIA as the sole tire supplier for Formula E, covering seasons 2026-2027... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have developed a new snow chain-integrated tire technology to make it easier to stay safe in winter driving conditions. Snow chain-integrated tire technology uses shape memory alloy modules that are located inside the wheel and tire. These modules protrude to act as a ‘snow... Read more →

Continental has put its new driving simulator for tires into operation. It will be used from now on for new and further tire developments, especially in the original equipment business. An intensive test phase of around twelve months preceded the operational phase. Virtual tire tests will save raw materials and... Read more →

Synthos, a global producer of synthetic rubber, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kumho Tire, a South Korean tire manufacturer, for the joint development of sustainable tire raw materials. Under the MOU, the two companies will conduct a joint research and development project for Neodymium-Butadiene rubber (Nd-BR) using Bio-Butadiene... Read more →

Yokohama Tire has introduced its first ultra high-performance all-season tire specifically designed for EVs: the ADVAN Sport EV A/S. The Sport EV, which will be offered in 10 sizes ranging from 18 to 20 inches, officially goes on sale 1 January 2024 in the United States, according to Andrew Briggs,... Read more →

Following a joint call to action around recovered carbon black (rCB) at the 2021 Smithers rCB conference, Bridgestone Corporation and Michelin Group have published a joint technical white paper to share the results of their work with stakeholders in the rCB community to develop a proposed global standard to increase... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Visolis, a sustainable technology company, will collaborate to produce isoprene through the upcycling of biobased materials. This collaboration is supported by a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant awarded to Visolis earlier this year. Isoprene, an important precursor for some types of synthetic... Read more →

New data from UK-based fleet management company epyx’ 1link Service Network platform shows that tires fitted to electric vehicles (EVs) are lasting, on average, 6,350 fewer miles than those fitted to gasoline or diesel cars. The first tire change for electric cars is taking place at an average of 17,985... Read more →

Continental recently added recovered carbon black (rCB) to its newly produced Super Elastic solid tires at its tire plant in Korbach, Germany, thus reducing the use of fossil raw materials and CO2 emissions. Solid tires such as Continental’s SC20+ already contain around 60% renewable and recycled materials due to their... Read more →

At IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, Continental unveiled its new tire concept Conti CityPlus. This tire technology increases the total energy efficiency of a tire by up to 10%. The results are lower CO2 emissions from passenger cars with combustion engines and longer driving ranges for electric vehicles. Conti CityPlus... Read more →

In November 2022, LanzaTech and Sumitomo Riko Company entered into a joint-development agreement to reuse rubber, resin and urethane waste for the production of a key chemical intermediate, isoprene. (Earlier post.) Sumitomo Rubber along with Sumitomo Electric will be taking part in this joint development. The three companies will join... Read more →

In partnership with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), researchers from the University of Missouri (MU) Mizzou Asphalt Pavement and Innovation Lab (MAPIL) recently created a real-world test road using recycled materials such as scrap tires and plastic waste along a portion of Interstate 155 in the Missouri Bootheel. By... Read more →

In an open letter, Nick Molden, CEO, Emissions Analytics and Dr Andreas Mayer, Chairman of the Scientific Committee, VERT Association, call on European regulators to apply the same approach they have applied to the tailpipe to the growing issue of tire emissions. The authors urge the inclusion of particle mass,... Read more →

The new “Pendik” bicycle bag from the pinqponq brand by baesiq GmbH (Cologne, Germany) has a significantly reduced CO2 footprint due to BASF’s Ultramid Ccycled, a mass-balanced polyamide that supports the use of alternative raw materials from chemical recycling of plastic waste. BASF feeds pyrolysis oil from end-of-life (EOL) tires... Read more →

By 2024, nearly 40 La Poste vans fitted with the Michelin Uptis airless tire (earlier post) will deliver letters and parcels in the Lesquin, Valenciennes and Douai sectors, in the Hauts-de-France region (North of France). Three initial vehicles will be put into circulation as of June 27, within the framework... Read more →

For the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on 28 May, Bridgestone has incorporated ISCC PLUS certified recycled butadiene, a monomer produced from hard-to-recycle used plastic shopping bags, film, stretch wrap and other flexible polymer packaging, developed in partnership with Shell, in all Firestone Firehawk race tires used at the... Read more →

Dumping large quantities of end-of-life tires (ELTs) in landfills creates a focus of colonies of insects and rodents, as well as a hazard of fire that generates billowing smoke and causes situations of environmental and health alarms in neighboring towns. More than 176,000 tonnes of ELTs are collected in Spain... Read more →

Bridgestone Americas held the world debut of its new Turanza EV grand touring tire, the company’s first replacement tire designed specifically for premium electric vehicles and the first to feature Bridgestone ENLITEN technology. Launching immediately at tire retailers nationally, the new Bridgestone Turanza EV grand touring tire was purposefully designed... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced a new tread formulation for its ultra-high performance, all-season ElectricDrive GT tire, tuned for electric vehicles, in size 235/40R19. The specialized tread compound that provides enhanced all-season traction will include Monolith carbon black produced by methane pyrolysis. This tire, which will be manufactured... Read more →

Butadiene, an essential component of synthetic rubber, is currently produced by the petrochemical industry from fossil reserves. Butadiene can also be produced from ethanol by one of two primary methods: Lebedev, which converts ethanol over one catalyst in one reactor, and Ostromisslensky, which converts a mixture of ethanol and acetaldehyde... Read more →

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it is supplying its ADVAN V61 tires to Lexus for use as original equipment (OE) tires on the new RZ, the Lexus brand’s first dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV), which was launched in Japan and other countries, including in Europe and Asia, from... Read more →

Bridgestone Americas has produced a run of demonstration tires made with 75% recycled and renewable materials (38% renewable, 37% recycled content), including synthetic rubber made with recycled plastics and natural rubber harvested from hevea and guayule grown domestically. The company has completed production of 200 demonstration tires and is pursuing... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company introduced the Powerload lineup to the North America construction, loading, logistics support and landscaping markets. The new Powerload lineup, now available in North America, has advanced features and technologies specifically designed to deliver traction and durability for compact wheel loaders and graders, regardless of... Read more →

Sumitomo Rubber Industries will launch FALKEN e. ZIEX as a new line of replacement tires for electric vehicles (EV) in Europe, where the market for EV has been growing rapidly. Featuring the highest level of fuel (energy) efficiency of any tire that the company has offered to date, e. ZIEX... Read more →

A newly approved standard from ASTM International’s recovered carbon black committee (D36) provides a test that will help to differentiate products and provide a quality control tool for producers and users. Recovered carbon black (rCB) is a recycled product made from end-of-life tires. Recovered carbon black can reduce the tire... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company introduced RangeMax RSD EV, Goodyear’s first electric vehicle-ready tire compatible with EV and gas- or diesel-powered regional work vehicles. The RangeMax RSD EV is Goodyear’s best regional drive tire for energy efficiency. Equipped to handle the higher load capacities of EVs, RangeMax RSDEV was... Read more →

A new briefing paper from Imperial College London estimates that in 2021, 52% of all small particle pollution from road transport came from tires and brakes. The researchers, from Imperial College London’s Transition to Zero Pollution (TZP) initiative, warn that even though electric vehicles remove the problem of fuel emissions,... Read more →

Solvay is investing at its Livorno, Italy site to launch the company’s first unit of circular highly dispersible silica (HDS) made with bio-based sodium silicate derived from rice husk ash (RHA). Rice husk is an abundantly available agricultural waste. Combustion of rice husk produces RHA, which consists mainly of silica... Read more →