Trelleborg Tires: Balancing performance & sustainability with AI

The holy grail of off-highway tyre development is a tyre that is robust and durable yet delivers eco-friendly performance in its given application. Sharing its experiences in this area, Trelleborg Tires credits continuous research and “the right dose of AI” as indispensable factors.

Developing the right compound for each off-highway sector application is crucial – arguably even more so than in other segments – as compounds significantly influence performance, safety, and sustainability. End users demand exceptional productivity in tough environments and simultaneously expect minimal environmental impact. For tyre makers, this dual remit translates into the challenge of engineering a sustainable tyre that matches or exceeds the performance gained from traditional compounds, using alternative raw materials from reliable sources and in adequate volumes.

Tech to the rescue

Is there a solution to this conundrum that allows for the best of both worlds? Trelleborg Tires believes there is. The key lies in leveraging digitalisation and AI.

“Depending on the intended use and product category, the requirements for compounds can vary greatly,” comments Veronica Cantonetti, Raw Materials – Compounding & Sustainability Director at Yokohama TWS. “Our task is to optimally balance all components, considering the position of the compound within the tyre. Therefore, the different combinations of natural or recycled materials with standard fossil-based materials need careful evaluation to achieve the right balance between performance and sustainability.”

Trend towards recycled materials

To address environmental concerns, off-highway tyre manufacturers have increasingly shifted to using polymers and fillers in recent years, with a growing trend towards recycled materials, including textiles. Notable changes have already occurred in the composition of the typical off-highway tyre.

Trelleborg Tires’ achievements highlight this progress. For instance, the TM1 Eco Power agricultural tyre incorporates 65 per cent of components from sustainable and eco-friendly sources. In material handling and solid tyres for construction, the percentage reaches up to 46 per cent. The EMR range for construction applications focuses on sustainability through new compounds and structures, using a new generation of steel wires to enhance tyre wear life.

Nevertheless, Cantonetti considers the real challenge to lie in guaranteeing that these sustainable materials deliver equal or superior performance. “To further enhance sustainability in our agricultural products, we’ve made several improvements. We use silica from rice husks to reduce fuel consumption. We’ve incorporated recycled materials like pyrolysed carbon black. Additionally, to improve tyre aging resistance, we’ve replaced synthetic antioxidants with a blend based on cashew nut shells. This change helps minimise the leakage of chemicals into the soil.”

Human-AI collaboration in tyre innovation

New directions in tyre compounding and design require a new approach to tyre development, and this is where innovative technologies enter the picture. Trelleborg Tires views sustainability and digitalisation as being “parallel paths,” with machine learning and advanced data analysis capable of revolutionising the compound formulation process, resulting in compounds that are safer, as well as more efficient and sustainable.

Don’t underestimate the role that AI and machine learning now plays in developing new compound formulations. Chemists can employ AI to predict the properties of desired formulations and their performance based on given recipes, reducing development time, minimising lab iterations, and making the process more sustainable by decreasing the amount of waste test material generated.

However, Cantonetti emphasises that relying solely on AI “is not enough.” The expertise and experience of chemist-technologists are crucial in selecting proposed solutions and evaluating technological constraints related to cost and material availability.

“We operate our AI so that Trelleborg Tires experts can combine the advantages of an algorithmic approach with their knowledge and expertise to accelerate the new formulation process,” she explains. “As a result, the most suitable recipe based on specific properties is swiftly identified, also considering technological constraints.”

More benefits for end consumers

Going forward, Trelleborg Tires aims to apply an even more sustainable logic within the algorithm, using this to create formulations from sustainable resources.

“Our aim is to ensure, at the same cost, a competitive product and a fully sustainable business model that brings even more benefits for our end consumer,” concludes Cantonetti.