Goodyear has unveiled a tire made almost entirely of sustainable materials at the CES show, with a goal of reaching 100% sustainability by the end of the decade. The new tire also has lower rolling resistance, which means it creates less friction with the road and makes a car more energy-efficient.
Last year, Goodyear displayed a 70% sustainable tire that included 13 ingredients across nine tire components, with plans to bring it to market in 2023. This year, they’ve improved to a 90% sustainable tire that has passed internal and regulatory testing, featuring 17 ingredients across 12 components, including plant-based oil, end-of-life tires for carbon, soybean oil for temperature-resistant rubber, silica from rice husk waste for improved grip and reduced fuel consumption, recycled polyester and steel cords for reinforcement, and renewable pine tree resin for traction.
“We continue to make progress toward our goal of introducing the first 100% sustainable-material tyre in the industry by 2030,” said Chris Helsel, senior vice president, Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer. “The past year was a pivotal one toward achieving this goal. We researched new technologies, identified opportunities for further collaboration and utilized our team’s tenacity to not only demonstrate our capabilities to produce a 90% sustainable-material tyre, but to also produce a tyre with up to 70% sustainable-material content this year.”
Goodyear defines a sustainable material as “a bio-based/renewable, recycled material or one that may be produced using or contributing to other sustainable practices for resource conservation and/or emissions reductions including mass-balance materials.”
In order to bring their 90% sustainable-material tire to market, Goodyear will need to work closely with their suppliers to determine the necessary production volume and optimize the use of these innovative materials. This will enable the company to manufacture the tire on a large scale.
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