PARIS—In its pursuit of a 100-percent sustainable tire, Michelin is just about half way there.
During its annual Movin'On conference—designed to connect multiple industries around a unified vision for sustainable mobility—Michelin unveiled a new racing tire, one containing 46 percent sustainable and recycled content.
Michelin is claiming the tire as a first, saying it marks the marriage of sustainability and performance.
"With its totally new innovation engineered for motorsports, Michelin has found what many observers thought was impossible: a way to make a tire with high sustainable content that still delivers superior on-track performance," the company said in a news release.
The achievement largely resulted from the increased use of natural rubber and recycled carbon black recovered from end-of-life tires. Other sustainable materials used on the tire included citrus rinds, sunflower oil, pine resin, and recycled steel and aluminum.
The tire is fitted to the GreenGT Mission H24 hydrogen-powered prototype, which was developed for endurance racing.
It's not unusual for Michelin to test some of its biggest ideas against the demanding attributes of the racetrack. The company long has leaned into its racing partnerships to gain insights for tire development and prove some of its most promising technologies.
"As a real-world technological laboratory, motorsports enable Michelin to develop and test new high-tech solutions in extreme usage conditions," the company said. "With this innovative partnership, Michelin is showcasing its ability to incorporate an ever-higher proportion of sustainable materials into its products without compromising on their performance."