Continental Tires Develops Tire with 43% Recycled Materials, Achieving Top Energy-Efficiency Rating

[Financial News] Continental Tires has developed a concept tire with the share of recycled materials increased to approximately 43%. Although it uses end-of-life tires, discarded PET bottles, and industrial by-products as raw materials, it achieved the highest rating in the rolling-resistance category of the European Union (EU) tire label, which measures energy efficiency. Having confirmed the potential to expand the use of recycled materials while maintaining performance, Continental Tires plans to secure raw-material supplies and mass-production technologies for future commercialization.
Continental Tires announced on the 17th that it had developed a concept tire using recycled materials as part of the EU-supported ZEvRA project. ZEvRA is designed to increase resource circularity throughout the electric-vehicle production process and is scheduled to conclude this year. Continental is the only tire manufacturer among the 28 participating organizations.
The research focused on increasing the use of recycled raw materials while maintaining the tire’s basic performance, including safety, efficiency, and service life. The concept tire uses recycled tall oil and steel, rubber and carbon black recovered from end-of-life tires, and polyester fibers made from discarded PET bottles. By-products generated during the casting process were also used as a substitute for silica.
Based on the research findings, Continental will consider ways to apply recycled materials and related technologies to actual tire production. The company plans to increase the share of recycled materials in future products by securing technologies for the stable supply and processing of recycled raw materials, as well as for mass production.
Some of the materials are already being used in mass-produced products. Since 2022, Continental has used polyester carcasses made from recycled PET bottles in some passenger-car tires, expanding the use of recycled and renewable materials.
Niko Kyriatzopoulos, head of the replacement-tire business at Continental Tire Korea, said, "While it is important to use more recycled materials, it is even more important to preserve the tire’s basic performance, including safety and efficiency. This concept tire demonstrated the possibility of significantly increasing the share of recycled materials while still achieving high performance." He added, "We will continue developing related materials and technologies and expand the range of applications in actual products."
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter