Monolith carbon black brings sustainability to Goodyear EV tire

LINCOLN, Neb.—The way Monolith sees it, electric vehicles just got a little more sustainable. Thanks in part to their tires.

That sustainability starts, Monolith said, with a more sustainable carbon black manufacturing process using methane pyrolysis. The technology developed by Monolith uses clean electricity to convert natural gas into carbon black and hydrogen, resulting in a nearly zero-emissions production process.

The carbon black maker said May 10 that it has partnered with Goodyear to help deliver EV tire products that utilize the more sustainable carbon black material. And it already found a place in the ultra-high performance, all-season ElectricDrive GT passenger tire in size 235/40R19. This marks the first time the company's carbon black has been used in tire products.

"Our mission is to work with innovative partners to transform existing trusted products into more sustainable versions, reduce carbon footprints, and improve sustainable outcomes," Rob Hanson, Monolith co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. "Our delivery of a more sustainably made carbon black to Goodyear is a significant milestone in our company journey, and one we are proud to celebrate alongside an industry leader like Goodyear."

For Goodyear, this marks another step forward on its sustainability journey, one that ultimately ends with the production of 100-percent sustainable materials tires.

"At Goodyear, we are continually looking at and working with our supply base to understand and discover new innovations and technologies to use in our products," Chris Helsel, Goodyear's senior vice president of global operations and chief technology officer, said in a statement. "The use of carbon black produced by methane pyrolysis is an example of how we are collaborating with our suppliers, like Monolith, to utilize sustainable materials in our consumer products, without compromising on performance and safety."

And when it comes to carbon black, specifically, Goodyear—and the tire industry overall—is going to need a lot of sustainable carbon black. Goodyear estimates that carbon black accounts for 20 percent of the tire by weight.

The partnership between Goodyear and Monolith dates back to 2021 when the two companies first entered into a collaboration for the development and potential use of Monolith's carbon black for its tires.

Since that time, Goodyear has made significant strides in its efforts to bring to market a fully sustainable tire—that is a tire made with 100-percent renewable and recycled/recyclable materials. The latest iteration of those efforts was unveiled in January with a 90-percent sustainable materials demonstration tire.