Tyres can’t function without this critical raw material. Whether its natural or synthetic rubber you are interested in, articles bearing this tag feature this indispensable polymer.
Yokohama Rubber hopes to speed up its tyre development process by implementing new rubber compounding technology that draws upon the power of artificial intelligence (AI). It is turning to a process that utilises AI-based compound generation technology to achieve user-set target property values.
Bridgestone Corporation owns almost 24,000 hectares of natural rubber plantations in Indonesia and has approved plans to increase yields there to ensure a sustainable supply of natural rubber for its tyre production. The company will invest US$26.7 million by 2030. The aim of these investments is to enhance the plantations’ productivity, with Bridgestone setting a goal of doubling harvest volumes (compared with 2022 projections) in a given area in 2035.
On 20 July 2022, the launch ceremony of the Advanced Polymer and Metal Materials Industrial Park in Qingdao City, Shandong Province was held. Tyrepress noted that among the seven projects that started construction, the Functional New Material Industrial Park belonging to the National Engineering Research Center for Rubber and Tire (NECRAT) was included.
With immediate effect, tyre maker Continental will handle a portion of its natural rubber purchasing through HeveaConnect, a digital trading platform designed to ensure greater transparency and sustainability in the natural rubber supply chain. Reporting this new arrangement, Continental’s Dr Andrea Appel explains that the goal is to procure all materials from “responsible sources,” and that the key to achieving this “lies in innovative technologies and digitalisation, which can make a decisive contribution to transparency in complex supply chains.”
On Wednesday, Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced the winner of the 2021 Deutscher Zukunftspreis (German Future Prize), an accolade bestowed upon those promoting technology and innovation within the country. This year the award went, perhaps predictably, to the research team at Biontech for their work developing Pfizer’s Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, but the awards event also honoured research into finding a viable substitute for the rubber from the Pará tree.
Toyo Tyre Australia Pty Ltd., the Australian sales subsidiary of Toyo Tire Corporation, will wind up its rubber mixing business as of 13 December 2021. The closure of the 1974-established operation directly affects 36 of the 107 people employed (as of 31 December 2020) by Toyo Tyre Australia.
Tyre maker Continental and Security Matters, an Australian company focused on the digitisation of physical objects in the blockchain, are collaborating to develop and test a marker technology for natural rubber. The two companies have entered into an agreement covering this work.
Tyres are but one product that may benefit from Continental’s research into integrating printed electronics within rubber. At a facility in Freiburg, Germany, the company is working to digitalise rubber and plastic products that previously only performed mechanical tasks. Work conducted there under the leadership of Dr Tim Wolfer includes the three-year sensIC (sens for sensor and IC for integrated circuit) project, which is being co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to the tune of 2.9 million euros.
The latest figures from the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) suggest that year-on-year growth in global natural rubber supply won’t be quite as high as previously anticipated and will be lower than expected demand. The ANRPC has downwardly revised its full-year outlook on global natural rubber supply for 2021 to 13.782 million tonnes.
Continental is extending its commitment to sustainability in the natural rubber supply chain. The tyre maker and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have agreed to significantly expand their project to ensure full traceability within the natural rubber supply chain in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan (Borneo).
Kumho Tire Co., South Korea’s second-largest tire maker, said Tuesday it will sell its natural rubber processing plant in Vietnam to focus on its core business. According to an official statement published on 23 March 2021, Kumho Tire said it has struck a deal with a joint venture between Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and Thanh Cong Group of Vietnam to sell its rubber factory.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has presented the “next evolution” of its proprietary Advanced 4D Nano Design materials development technology. The manufacturer of the Falken and (outside Europe) Dunlop tyre brands also reports it is utilising supercomputer technology to accelerate its work on materials simulation.
Bridgestone Corporation reports it has developed a new technology for improving the rubber productivity of guayule plants. It worked on this technology in a joint development project with Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, a company perhaps better known for beer and other beverages.
According to OECD estimates, the world will be home to more than 2.4 billion cars by 2050, around a billion more than exist today. This significant rise in the global vehicle parc will result in much higher demand for the raw materials needed to manufacture tyres. Bridgestone has turned to big data to help optimise rubber yields, and reports developing a system that leads to higher long-term yields.
The German Sustainability Award project is hailed as “Europe’s premier award for environmental and social engagement.” Held annually since 2008 and oriented towards the goals of Agenda 2030, the multi-stakeholder, government-supported awards honour those working towards a more sustainable future. Awardees for 2021 include Continental, whose Urban Taraxagum bicycle tyre caught the judging panel’s attention. The tyre is an award-winner in the Responsible Design category.
Screenshot from local media coverage
Bridgestone Corporation