Post by account_disabled on Mar 5, 2024 20:21:28 GMT -7
The French mobility multinational said that meeting the new commitment announced on February 23 will require a huge internal R&D effort, as well as new partnerships with external innovators.
In 2018, around 28% of the Ecuador Mobile Number List components used to manufacture Michelin Group tires were classified as “sustainable”. The firm applies this definition to recycled, renewable and bio-based materials. Natural rubber, which is the main ingredient in a tire, falls into this definition. But tires also contain more than 200 other ingredients that, although they help the quality of the tire, have a high environmental impact. Among them are synthetic resins and silica.
According to edie , Michelin will present specific plans in the near future to eliminate and replace unsustainable materials. For now, it has said that the push to change materials sourcing and design will be a priority for its 6,000 R&D development center employees.
It has also stated that it will continue to forge new “bold partnerships with innovative companies” and expand existing collaborations. Michelin partners include Axens and IFP Energies Nouvelles, which lead a bio-based butadiene manufacturing facility from plant waste in France; Pyrowave, which supplies recycled styrene, and Carbios, creators of an enzymatic recycling process for PET. Carbios has also received support from PepsiCo and Lucozade Ribena Suntory.
Michelin tires will be sustainable
Of course, Michelin's new commitment will reduce the environmental impact of tires in the design and manufacturing phase.
But tires can also generate negative environmental impacts during – and at the end – of their useful life.
During use, tires release microplastics that can contaminate marine habitats. Furthermore, of the 12 million tonnes of used tires discarded in Europe each year, only 42% were recycled before COVID-19.
In this sense, Michelin plans to launch its first tire recycling plant in collaboration with the Swedish materials technology company Enviro. The plant will allow the most valuable reusable materials, such as carbon black and steel, to be extracted from tires.
Michelin tires will be sustainable in 2050
Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of petroleum products .
In the UK, tire manufacturers could soon face new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements under the Resources and Waste Strategy. Consultations on the implementation of the Strategy were planned for 2020, but will take place this year, following delays.