FRANKFURT, Germany — Group Michelin is calling for industrywide consensus on a "common and stringent definition" of what makes a material sustainable.
"Currently, there is no single definition for sustainable materials," Michelin said in connection with receiving an automotive industry award for a 45% sustainable-materials car tire it debuted in early 2022.
"This lack of definition impairs the readability of the different processes currently implemented in the tire industry," Michelin said.
The Clermont Ferrand, France-based company went on to explain that it considers "sustainable materials to be those that are recycled or renewable over the scale of a human lifetime."
In order to take into consideration all of the parameters and environmental impacts of tires, Michelin said it has implemented a 360° approach, based on an analysis of the life cycle of tires from the choice of raw materials through to recycling solutions, within a general framework of eco-design.
This willingness goes beyond being capable of developing and incorporating sustainable materials in tires, the company added, and aims to act on all levers at each stage of the life cycle of tires: design, manufacture, transport, use and end-of-life.
At the Automotive Innovations Award 2023 in Frankfurt, Michelin was commended for its commitment to producing tires containing 100% sustainable materials by 2050.
The 45% sustainable material tire, road-approved for passenger cars, earned a joint award from PricewaterhouseCoopers G.m.b.H. and German-based Center of Automotive Management (CAM).
Unveiled in 2022 at a media day event at its Cuneo, Italy, passenger tire factory, the tire incorporates technologies that will feature in standard tires in 2025, according to Michelin.
The firm said the tires introduced at the Cuneo event are built with a greater-than-usual percentage of natural rubber, together with the use of recycled carbon black, oils such as sunflower oil and bio-sourced resins, silica from rice husks and recycled steel.
The company also exhibited at the Cuneo event a commercial tire that it claimed contained 57% of sustainable/environmentally friendly materials while offering no performance compromises.
Michelin did not identify which tire lines these demonstration models represent not say which highly sustainable tire lines it expects to be commercially available first or where they would be sold initially.
To support its drive toward increased sustainability, Michelin has designated an department within its research and development sector with 6,000 engineers, researchers, chemists and developers. The company also said it holds 3,678 active patents for these materials.
Over recent years, Michelin has stepped up its sustainability-focused efforts with partnerships particularly in the fields of recycling.
Among the partners are Pyrowave Inc. to manufacture recovered styrene monomers (r-styrene), Carbios S.A. for the manufacture of r-PET, and Enviro Systems A.B. for the production of recovered carbon black.
The group is also involved in projects to produce bio-butadiene and to set up recycling plants for tires as well as unrecyclable waste.
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Story includes independent reporting by Tire Business.
