While most experts agree that EVs are more environmentally friendly than internal combustion vehicles, the quest for greening transportation goes beyond what’s under the hood. For Goodyear, it literally starts where the rubber meets the road. Tires are obviously a very important component of any vehicle, but let’s face it, they contain materials and are made with processes that are fairly toxic to the environment.
Considering there are at least two tires for every road-going vehicle in the world today, making those round rubber things more sustainable could go a long way in cleaning up this blue marble we’re all living on.
Goodyear’s contribution looks like it might be promisingly close to reality. At CES 2023, the company revealed a tire in which 90 percent of its components are materials that come from sustainable sources. Goodyear says there are 17 sustainable ingredients that include things like recycled polyester and plant-based components like soybean oil, rice husk waste, and “bio-renewable” pine tree resin. It also uses steel with “high recycled content” and “ISCC certified mass balance polymers from bio- and bio-circular feedstock.”
It all sounds pretty impressive but you may be thinking that this is just a blue-sky concept and won’t go much further. However, Goodyear is taking this fairly seriously. The demonstration tire it brought to CES has been put through—and passed—regulatory testing and Goodyear’s internal testing.
That doesn’t mean it is going to be on the road tomorrow, as Goodyear admits it still needs to work with its suppliers to figure out a way to scale up to mass production. The company also has another tire made from 70 percent sustainable materials in the works, and already launched a website for customers who are interested in purchasing it. Goodyear says it wants to develop a 100-percent sustainable tire by the end of the decade. Considering that, we may see the 70 percent tire (or this 90-percenter) on the road sooner than we think.
In the meantime, if you already own an EV like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 then you may want to check out our EV Tires Learning Center to help you figure out the best way to go when buying rubber for your vehicle. Of course, sustainable tires will be available more broadly, not just for EVs.
Source-Motor Trend
