Goodyear develops tires made of 90% sustainable materials

Goodyear has developed a prototype tire made of 90% sustainable materials.

According to a press release, the company calls it a "demonstration tire," and while the tire is not yet production-ready, it has passed all applicable regulatory tests and Goodyear's in-house tests. Its tests also showed lower rolling resistance than comparable conventional tires. This helps increase efficiency and reduce the amount of fuel and electricity needed to drive a given distance.

The demonstration tire uses 17 materials across 12 tire components that are sustainable or at least have a lower environmental impact than conventional tire materials.

These include four types of carbon black, a common tire component used to reinforce rubber compounds. Carbon black is typically made by burning petroleum products, but Goodyear claims to have reduced its carbon footprint by using methane, carbon dioxide, plant-based oil, and pyrolysis oil from used tires as raw materials.

Another green raw material is soybean oil, which is used to keep rubber compounds flexible at various temperatures. According to Goodyear, this is an alternative to petroleum-based products and is made from soybean residues from food and livestock feed. The company already uses soybean oil in some production tires, including racing tires.

It also includes silica made from rice husk residue, polyester made from recycled bottles, pine tree resin, and polymers made from bio-based materials. Goodyear claims that the steel used in the cord of this radial tire is produced in an electric arc furnace, which has a high recycling rate and uses less energy.

Although this tire is not yet in production, Goodyear plans to begin producing tires made from 70% sustainable materials this year. This comes just one year after Goodyear announced its 70% sustainable materials concept tire.

Goodyear is not alone in trying to make tires more sustainable. Bridgestone is developing natural rubber tires made from desert shrubs in the American Southwest, and Michelin and Hyundai are partnering to make more environmentally friendly tires. [The company announced last year that it is developing an airless tire and unveiled a reclaimed tire concept aimed at reducing waste in 2020. Goodyear has not discussed a definite timeline for commercializing these designs, but for now, increasing sustainable content is an important goal.