MUNICH—Continental A.G. is presenting a series of sustainable and innovative solutions at the IAA Mobility show underway in Munich, including its "GreenConcept" tire.
Claimed to set new standards in sustainability, the Conti GreenConcept is made up of more than 50 percent "traceable, renewable and recycled materials" and features new lightweighting and tread technologies.
The tire is made of 35 percent renewable raw materials including dandelion natural rubber, silicate from the ashes of rice husks, and various vegetable oils and resins, Conti said in a Sept. 6 statement.
In addition, it contains 17 percent recycled materials, such as processed steel and carbon black, as well as polyester from recycled PET bottles which is used in the casing of a tire "for the first time."
Conti also is employing its Cokoon technology for eco-friendly bonding of textile reinforcement with rubber in the concept tire.
Weighing just 7.5kg, the concept tire also employs "innovative lightweight technology" which makes it up to 40 percent lighter than conventional tires, according to the tire maker.
The weight reduction, Conti said, was made possible by an optimized tread pattern, a special sidewall and a new casing design with a weight-optimized core.
"All in all, the design choices made lead to significantly lower resource consumption and more sustainable driving," it said.
The concept tire is particularly destined for use in next-gen smart vehicles, equipped with sensors that can monitor the temperature, pressure and tread depth of the tire.
According to Conti, the tire's "specially designed tread" and optimized materials also help reduce the rolling resistance of the product.
In-house measurements show that the tire's rolling resistance is to about 25 percent lower than class "A" tire under the EU Tyre Label system, the company said.
Furthermore, the tire concept can be retreaded multiple times. The green-colored tread baseline marks the transition from tread to casing and undamaged casings can be reused several times.
"If a tread is renewed three times, for example, this halves the amount of material used for a casing," said David O'Donnell, who is responsible for Continental's global tire original equipment business.
In addition to the GreenConcept tire, Continental is exhibiting the ID. LIFE by Volkswagen, which features Conti's eco-friendly EcoContact 6 concept tires.
The tires, which are making their way into series production "in the near future," contain 37 percent renewable and recycled materials, Conti said.
