SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. met recently with its consortium partners to review progress in the $6.9 million Biomass Research and Development Initiative, Cooper said.
Funded by the departments of Agriculture and Energy, the BRDI is a joint research project to develop feedstocks, biofuels and biobased products from the residue of the guayule plant.
Cooper is working with Yulex Corp., Arizona State University and the USDA's Agricultural Research Service to develop tire-grade guayule biopolymers, as well as guayule biomass for biofuel, the company said. The consortium partners received the four-year BRDI grant in June 2012.
The consortium partners met at the Cooper Tire & Vehicle Test Center near San Antonio. This is the first major meeting between the partners to monitor the status of the initiative, said Chuck Yurkovich, Cooper vice president of global research and development.
"These meetings serve to foster dialogue and strengthen ties between the partners, and allow us to continue to scale up our efforts collectively in order to meet grant targets," Yurkovich said.