Continental Unveils Sustainable Tire Concept At IAA Mobility

The tire concept is based on innovative, resource-saving lightweight technology and ensures an extended service life thanks to a renewable tread.

At this year’s IAA MOBILITY in Munich, Continental is presenting innovative and sustainable solutions for the future of global mobility.

Under the tagline “Safe. Connected. Convenient. Driving the Future of Mobility for 150 Years,” the technology company is focusing on the safe, sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods, both in hall B1 (booth C20) and virtually.

Continental is presenting a world first in the form of a particularly sustainable tire concept: the Conti GreenConcept. Its integrated sustainability profile sets new standards.

Continental’s development engineers and material experts have worked on three levels to achieve this: at more than 50 percent, the tire contains a particularly high proportion of traceable, renewable and recycled materials.

The tire concept is based on innovative, resource-saving lightweight technology and ensures an extended service life thanks to a renewable tread.

The proportion of renewable raw materials used in the Conti GreenConcept is 35 percent. The organic materials used include natural rubber from dandelions, silicate from the ashes of rice husks, and various vegetable oils and resins, which significantly reduce the amount of crude oil-based materials, said the tyremaker in a release.

Also Read: Continental To Use Recycled PET Bottles In Tire Production

In addition, the Conti GreenConcept is made from 17 percent recycled materials. As well as processed steel and carbon black, Continental is using polyester from recycled PET bottles in the casing of a tire for the first time.

Thanks to a special lightweight design, the developers have significantly reduced the weight and rolling resistance of the concept tire. All the individual improvements together result in significantly lower rolling resistance for the Conti GreenConcept.

Based on internal analysis, this is around 25 percent lower than that of a tire with class A rolling resistance according to the EU tire label, the best in this area.

The Conti GreenConcept therefore has a measurable positive effect on the environment. Lower rolling resistance means the vehicle consumes less energy, which in the case of electric vehicles extends their range by up to 6 percent.

Another advantage of the tire is its renewable tread. The Conti GreenConcept can be replaced multiple times with little effort in terms of time and materials. This vastly improves resource conservation, because renewing the tread three times would ensure that the material used for the casing is halved in relation to its total mileage.

Also Read: New BMW M4 – Factory-Fitted With Tires From Continental

“The cars of the future will still need tires, which we are making more and more sustainable, as our concept tire shows. The Conti GreenConcept demonstrates how Continental Tire will completely convert its global tire production to the use of sustainable materials by 2050 at the latest. This underlines our goal of being the most advanced tire company along the entire value chain by 2030 in terms of social needs as well as our ecological and economic footprint,” said Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer, adding: “Step by step, our solutions and technologies are enhancing sustainability and climate protection on the road.”

“From as early as 2022,” confirmed Setzer, “we will make our global business for emission-free vehicles completely carbon-neutral. By 2040, we are aiming for zero carbon emissions at all of our plants worldwide. Finally, by 2050 at the latest, we plan to be carbon-neutral along the entire value chain.”

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