It’s a version of the popular Assurance line of tires.
Goodyear hopes to have a 100% sustainable tire by 2030.
Tires are a critical component for all, or nearly, forms of transportation. If anything, EVs “consume” tires at a higher rate than normal internal combustion engine cars mostly due to their immense instant torque. It, therefore, stands to reason that they evolve along with the automobile. Goodyear is developing new tire technology that will consist in using only sustainable materials by the end of the decade.
So far, Goodyear has managed to build a tire using 70% sustainable-material content. The material itself includes 13 ingredients through nine different components. As reported by Tire Business, the ingredients are soybean oil, rice husk ash silica, bio-based polymers, fabrics made from recycled bottles, renewable resins, chemicals, and sustainably derived carbon blacks.
One of the key features in tires, carbon black, is crucial. The petroleum-derived product reinforces the tire’s compound for longevity. Goodyear’s found a way to make carbon black by using methane, carbon dioxide, and plant-based oil thus dramatically lowering the emissions created when making traditional carbon black.
“We set an ambitious goal in 2020 to create a tire made 100% from sustainable materials in 10 years, and our scientists and engineers have made great progress toward that goal,” Chris Helsel, Goodyear’s senior vice president, global operations, and chief technology officer, said. “This is an exciting achievement that demonstrates our commitment to increasing the use of sustainable materials in our tires.”
Given the progress, it seems highly probable that Goodyear will manage to reach its lofty goal of delivering a 100% sustainable tire by 2030.
