Michelin presented two tires, one for automobiles and the other for buses, containing respectively 45% and 58% biosourced, renewable or recycled materials. These two innovations will not be available for two to three years, but they have already been approved, the ultimate proof of their performance.
Michelin has unveiled two new tires incorporating a high percentage of sustainable materials in their composition. ©Michelin
The race to incorporate sustainable materials into tires is in full swing. A few days following Goodyear, which relied on the concept car Oli de Citroën to develop tires that are more respectful of the environment, it is the turn of Michelin to shine in this field which is so strategic for the future. And while all the main manufacturers are working on this subject, the Clermont group is taking a new step and unveiling, as a world premiere, two innovations that are precisely in line with this path.
Concepts with performance comparable to that of production tires
During a visit to its Italian plant in Cuneo, Italy, Michelin presented to the press a tire for light vehicles and a second for buses comprising respectively 45% and 58% of sustainable materials. A challenge met thanks to greater use of natural rubber, the addition of recycled carbon black, silica from rice husks and even recycled steel.
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Behind this technological success lies another, perhaps even more important for the future of this type of green tyre. If their marketing is not expected for two to three years, these two concepts have the particularity of being already homologated for the road. A crucial point which proves that these envelopes have levels of performance that are strictly identical to the Bibendum products already available on the market.
Be consistent
“These approvals are very important because they demonstrate that we can make progress on this issue of sustainable materials with products that meet the performance standards expected by the market and comply with the requirements of the Michelin group”note Cyril asks, Director of Scientific Communication and Manufacturer Innovations. For the manager, the sources of satisfaction are multiple.
And to highlight the fact that Michelin is thus sticking to its roadmap – with the ambition already announced and reaffirmed today of reaching 40% biosourced, renewable or recycled materials in its tires by 2030 and 100% 2050 – but also that these developments materialize with consistency and common sense. “Basically, the real issue is not so much the percentage of sustainable materials that we put in these tyres. The real issue is the overall impact of their manufacture on the environment.”
A complex recipe
Hence the idea of sourcing materials, recovering them, processing them and transforming them as locally as possible. What the tricolor is increasingly successful in doing thanks to its own know-how and that of its multiple partners (Pyrowave, Enviro, Clarios, BioButterfly, etc.). Cyrille Roget thus recalls that “Respecting the environment, maintaining performance and deploying standard technology in factories is a real challenge. Manufacturing a tire is very complex. We are talking regarding a product that nevertheless contains around 200 different ingredients!”
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It is on this basis of work, ever broader and ever more concrete, that Michelin will continue to move forward. If today these environmental efficiency rates are presented on two specific products, it is not clear that two new ranges will be born by 2024 or 2025. Without saying too much, the management of the manufacturer indicates that all this work might very well benefit the current ranges, the purpose not (necessarily) being to widen the portfolio but to make it more respectful of the environment.