Michelin tells us what future tyres will look like: sustainable, renewable and made with biomass

Tyres are important in the automotive industry and, like everything related to it, they are subject to constant evolution and development. Michelin tyres are among the best known and are possibly one of the most widely used brands in the world. Its products are evolving, and for the future the brand is anticipating important changes in the tyres that cars will use in the not-too-distant future.

Today, Michelin tyres use more than 200 ingredients to achieve a quality product. In addition to natural rubber, synthetic rubber, metal, fibres and other components that reinforce their structure are used. These include carbon black, silica and plasticising resins. Combined according to the formulas developed by the company’s engineers, these materials interact to offer the optimal balance between performance, ease of driving and safety, while also reducing the environmental impact of the tyre.

But it is important that all of this continues to evolve and that manufacturing conditions keep improving. Michelin has seven R&D centres where 6,500 people work. These centres have generated 10,000 patents that are used for the development and manufacture of tyres.

Research continues, and Michelin’s professionals are now working on developing airless, sustainable tyres made from materials obtained by recycling plastic packaging. To do so, they are collaborating with several leading companies in this field.

Piroware is working to obtain styrene, one of the ingredients in the tyre manufacturing formula, from the plastic used in packaging such as yoghurt pots. For its part, Carbios is responsible for recycling the PET from other types of packaging, such as water or soft drink bottles. This recycled PET can be used to make new products, such as the polyester yarn used in tyres.

Finally, the Swedish company Enviro will open a recycling plant with Michelin. Using processes patented by the company, it will be possible to separate carbon black, pyrolysis oil, steel, gas and the remaining materials. This means that at the end of the useful life of each tyre can be fully recycled and all of its components can be reused.

According to Michelin, future tyres will look different. The images accompanying this article correspond to the VISION concept, so these future tyres will have a lot in common with it. They are designed to require no air, with very strong fibres that can be used to improve vehicle performance, and with recycled and sustainable materials. We will have to wait to see them, as these new models are not expected to be available for fitting to our cars until 2050.

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