Continental released its new Conti GreenConcept tyre concept at IAA MOBILITY, an international motoring show based in Germany. The concept presents a new formulation of its tyres, which will be sourced from renewable and recycled materials.
The effort highlights Continental’s sustainability goals, which include minimising resource consumption throughout every stage of the tyre’s value chain. After arduous studies, Continental’s development engineers and materials experts managed to produce a tyre that consists of a high percentage of traceable, renewable, and recycled materials, has a lightweight design that conserves valuable resources, and an extended service life thanks to a renewable tread. The tyres are purpose-engineered for future sensor-equipped, smart vehicles with eco-friendly drives, weighing 7.5 kg, making it up to 40% lighter than conventional tyres.
More than half of the materials used in the making of Conti GreenConcept, are from renewable sources or recycled, with the company aiming to fully transition to sustainable raw materials by no later than 2050. To be considered sustainable, the materials must originate from closed-loop cycles, have no harmful effects on people or the environment, and be responsibly sourced as well as climate-neutral across their entire supply chains.
According to its website, among the bio-materials used are natural rubber from dandelions, silicate from the ash of rice husks, vegetable oils and resins, all leading to a significant reduction in materials from crude oil. Continental, says a top priority is not only to use sustainable materials in making its tyres, but also to further the cultivation and processing of such materials. Conti GreenConcept also consists of 17 percent recycled materials, mainly reclaimed steel and recovered carbon black, and polyester from recycled plastic bottles for the tyre’s casing.
The tread compound of the tyre will be 100% Taraxagum natural rubber, which means it can retreat multiple times with a minimal investment in terms of both time and materials.
David O’Donnell, responsible for Continental’s global tyre original equipment business said “Conti GreenConcept underscores our commitment to becoming the most progressive tyre company in terms of environmental and social responsibility by the year 2030 (…) The way we see it today, sustainably sourced raw materials, lightweight design and tread renewal are the key ingredients in making future generations of tyres more sustainable.(…) Conti GreenConcept delivers maximum performance in terms of both flexibility and sustainability, enabling modern mobility to truly hit the streets.”
