NOKIA, Finland — Nokian Tyres P.L.C. has chosen four finalists for its inaugural "Fast Race, Big Change" sustainable tire innovation challenge.
Finalists will pitch their sustainable solutions during a lap at Nokian Tyre's winter tire testing center, White Hell, located in Ivalo, Finland, 286 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
The winner will have the opportunity to collaborate with Nokian research and development executives to turn their idea into a reality and "be part of Nokian Tyres' sustainability story stretching across decades," according to the company.
The challenge was open to businesses, students and researchers. The tire maker said it received entries from 18 countries.
The finalists are:
- Microwave Solutions G.m.b.H. from Switzerland, with a solution for processing recycled materials;
- Universal Matter Inc. from Canada, with an innovation for sustainable graphene;
- Reselo A.B. from Sweden, with an innovation for bio-based rubber; and
- a simulation modeling expert from Italy with a solution for a more sustainable supply chain.
While sitting in the back seat of an electric vehicle being driven by a Nokian Tyres test driver speeding on a frozen track, finalists will pitch their idea to judges. The pitch will be streamed live to the panel.
After the lap, finalists will present the idea to a "jury" that includes industry influencers and innovators both from Nokian Tyres as well as outside the company.
The members of the jury are Anke Blume, head of the chair of Elastomer Technology and Engineering from Universite Twente; Sven Thiele, senior R&D leader, process and product development from Synthos Group; and Christer Steinssonmanager, global customer service from Volvo Cars.
Nokian representatives on the jury are Teemu Soini, head of innovation and development; teppo Huovila, vice president, sustainability and quality; Päivi Antola, senior vice president, communication, investor relations brand; and Anne Ojala, senior manager, materials development.
Soini said the candidates "bring something unique and interesting to the table. We believe that they all could help us on our way to reach our ambitious sustainability goals. It's all up to their performance at the finals event now."
The winner will receive money as well as the opportunity to explore a business or development partnership with Nokian.
"We want to make sure we are doing all we can for future driving to be as sustainable as possible," Soini said. "We are ready to commit to a long-term partnership with the winner and hope that this is how we find the next big solution towards winning the race against climate change."
Nokian Tyres is aiming to have 50% of all raw materials used in its tires recycled or renewable by year-end 2030, and to reduce CO2 emissions from production by 50%.
Last January, the tire maker introduced a concept tire, the Nokian Tyres Green Step, consisting of 93% of the materials recycled or renewable.
