Hankook committed to greater sustainability with E.Circle

Easy is overrated.

Challenges, though? Those are worth rising to.

At least, that's the way Hankook Tire and Technology Co. Ltd. sees it. Because, regardless of the challenges ahead, Hankook is fully committed to more sustainable—that is more sustainable products, operations and supply chains.

"To minimize impact on the environment, Hankook is dedicated to making eco-friendly products through innovative R&D processes," Byeongho (Aiden) Seo, sustainable material project director, told Rubber News.

Hankook plans to do exactly that with E.Circle as its guide. E.Circle represents a comprehensive plan for greater sustainability that is built around a simple pledge: reduce, reuse, renew and recycle.

"Through our E.Circle strategy, Hankook aims to not only create eco-friendly and sustainable products, but also provide optimal driving experiences to end consumers by establishing a circular economy system throughout the entire product lifecycle, from planning and research, design, procurement, production and disposal," Byeongho said.

And for the journey ahead, Hankook's roadmap is clear, with benchmarks, including:

• By 2030, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent compared to 2019 averages;
• By 2030, Reducing supply chain greenhouse gas emissions by 27.5 percent compared to 2019 averages; and
• Achieving 100 percent sustainable materials usage by 2050

Key to the sustainable journey ahead is balancing more responsible with better performance. In other words, when Hankook rolls more sustainable materials into its tires, it does so only if it can maintain or improve performance.

"As a result of our sustainable initiatives, consumers in North America can expect a stronger and safer tire, not only for their vehicles but also for the environment," Byeongho said. "For example, our iON product line features sustainable resins that significantly improve the available grip of the tire."

There's no going solo on the sustainability journey. It requires some company along the way, and Hankook is proud to say it has some pretty good partners at its side.

Its iON tire is proof.

An EV-specific tire, iON is the world's first tire to carry the ISCC Plus logo, according to Hankook. This underscores the company's commitment to using certified materials (mass balance approach) on the high-performance EV tire.

That's because when it comes to manufacturing and raw material procurement, well Hankook's got the ISCC Plus stamp of approval.

The South Korean-based firm claims to be the first tire maker to obtain ISCC Plus certification in November 2021. This allows for certified, sustainable raw materials to be used across the company's product portfolio, including in the Kinergy 4S 2 and the iON evo.

"For Hankook, (the certification) means our sustainability efforts are being recognized in the industry," Seo said. "It boosts our credibility, identifying our production as some of the most reliable in the field of eco-friendly certifications."

But there's even more to iON. Because there are partnerships behind it.

The EV-exclusive tire takes sustainability further with the use of chemically recycled PET in tire cord. It's an evolution that required more than two years and multiple partnerships.

The iON product line was developed in partnership with SK Chemicals and Hyosung Advanced Materials, which brought proprietary chemical recycling and tire cord manufacturing know-how, respectively.

"There were instances where chemical recycling technology was applied to concept tires or prototypes, but the release of a tire product to the market using chemically recycled PET-based tire cords through to commercialization is a first in South Korea," Seo said.

Partnerships are key for Hankook as it builds its more sustainable future and portfolio. And among them is a collaboration with Kumho Petrochemical Co. Ltd., which is working with Hankook to develop more eco-friendly tires using Eco Solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber.

Through the partnership, Hankook will test the limits of the Eco-SSBR as it measures the physical and performance properties of the more sustainable rubber made from Kumho's recycled styrene monomer.

When it comes to Hankook's sustainable strides, the industry is taking note, the tire maker said, adding that it participated this year in the ISCC Plus Conference in South Korea. That participation, Hankook said, underscored "the role we are playing in sustainability management and our efforts to reduce carbon emissions. We showcased the iON tire at that conference, alongside our efforts to develop a conceptual model with 70-percent eco-friendly materials and another product incorporating 45-percent eco-friendly materials aimed for mass production."