Bridgestone joins Shell Starship on its journey to sustainable mobility solutions

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Bridgestone Americas Inc. is having a rubber-meets-the-road kind of summer as its tires help carry the Shell Starship 3.0 cross-country from San Diego, Calif. to Jacksonville, Fla.

Bridgestone is collaborating with Shell on the Starship 3.0 project for the first time. Bridgestone will be equipping the Shell Starship with 18 tires in total. Specifically, the Bridgestone R213 Ecopia steer tires and Greatec R197 drive and trailer tires will be supplied for the project.

"The Ecopia steer and Greatec drive and trailer tires share something important in common: fuel efficiency," Tanya Miracle, director of TBR and Retread OE account management, Bridgestone Americas, said in an email interview. "Our Ecopia line is designed to provide eco-friendly performance through higher fuel efficiency and safety, while the Greatec R197 offers improved rolling resistance and optimum fuel efficiency. These Bridgestone products are an ideal fit for the Shell Starship concept, which aligns with Bridgestone's own journey into becoming a global leader in sustainable mobility solutions."

The Shell Starship is a hyper-aerodynamic, fuel-efficient heavy-duty concept truck developed by Shell. The company said in early May at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Anaheim, Calif., that the 3.0 concept truck will be riding on Bridgestone tires.

Starship 3.0 is designed with a GVW Capacity of 82,000 pounds, as afforded to Class 8 trucks utilizing natural gas, in which Federal Law provides a 2,000-pound credit.

The truck is powered by a Cummins X15N natural gas engine that will run on Shell Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). The RNG product is commercially available and has a low carbon intensity rating. RNG is a natural gas transportation fuel derived from organic waste and is interchangeable with compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid natural gas (LNG) in transport vehicles.

"The combination of Shell RNG fuels for fleets and quality, low-friction Shell Rotella lubricants made a natural gas engine a great choice for the next evolution of Starship," Selda Gunsel, president of Shell Global Solutions and vice president of fuels and lubricants technology, said in an email,

Shell Starship 3.0 will include components and features that promote lightweight and low aerodynamic drag, along with low rolling resistance tires from Bridgestone. The interior of the truck has been updated to make it comfortable for the driver on the road and inviting for passengers along for the ride.

The first- and second-generation versions of the Shell Starship achieved market-leading results, the company said, noting additional demonstration runs resulted in improved fuel economy and increased freight-ton efficiency far exceeding the national average.

"This summer," Gunsel said, "when Shell puts the new Starship 3.0 truck on the road for the demonstration runs, it will provide valuable insights and learnings for the commercial road transport sector as it accelerates toward a lower carbon future.

Following a regional demonstration run along the West Coast, Shell Starship 3.0 will embark on its cross-country journey from San Diego to Jacksonville, the same route two previous runs have followed.

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) will monitor the journey and verify the results, Gunsel said.

Miracle shared it was the sustainability factor that Bridgestone shares with the Shell concept truck project that encouraged the company to provide the tires.

"Sustainability has been ingrained as a foundational part of Bridgestone's history, and it's the purpose driving our vision to become a world-leading sustainable solutions company," Miracle said. "Our goal is to cut our company's emissions by 50 percent (compared to a 2011 baseline) and contribute to reducing the amount of its CO2 emissions across its value chain by more than five times.

"This approach aligns with Shell's Starship concept, which demonstrates how fleets today can reduce their energy usage and carbon emissions, without losing focus on the cost of their operations."

Shell Starship 3.0 demonstrates how the commercial road transport sector can collaborate to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions by harnessing the best of currently available technologies.

"Both companies are committed to continually working toward a sustainable society with integrity and in unity with our customers, partners, communities and the world around us," Miracle said.

For this project, Miracle said, Bridgestone's Ecopia and Greatec line were the perfect fit because they were "designed with durability, fuel efficiency and retreadability in mind.

"These products," she said, "are intended to help maximize the performance of a fleet's performance and investment, all while contributing to a circular economy."

The Bridgestone products being used on the Starship 3.0 are the same Ecopia and Greatec products that would fit any commercial fleet and are available today to assist fleets in reaching their business and sustainability targets.

"Our Ecopia and Greatec commercial tires are an ideal fit for the Shell Starship concept and we are excited for Bridgestone to partner with Shell on its latest iteration of the Starship initiative," said Miracle.