Conti, Pyrum making solid tires more sustainable

KORBACH, Germany—Sustainability is for the hearty. And that includes tires.

Continental A.G. is pushing some of its most durable tires further with recovered carbon black. The German tire maker said Sept. 12 that Super Elastic solid tires produced at its plant in Korbach were made with rCB supplied by Pyrum Innovations.

With Pyrym, Continental is taking end-of-life tires and turning them into new tires again.

The two companies signed an extended partnership agreement in May, making Pyrum's pyrolysis technologies and subsequent materials an integral part Continental's sustainability aims. The tire maker, after all, intends to produce a complete portfolio of 100-percent sustainable tires by 2050.

And that include solid tires, where expectations around sustainability are changing. Yes, solid tires must maintain durability and high load capacities while remaining puncture-proof and maintenance-free.

But they have to be a little more, too.

"Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the specialty tire segment," Matthias-Stephan Mueller, product manager for material handling tires in Continental's Specialty Tires business area, said in a statement. "Our Super Elastic solid tires combine low rolling resistance, long service life and a comparatively high proportion of sustainable materials."

The vehicles to which the tires are fitted are becoming more sustainable as well.

Many—forklift trucks used in intralogistics, especially—are electrically powered. And because tires play a leading role in the efficiency of each charge, low rolling resistance is essential.

For that, Continental relies on expert rubber compounding.

"Our customers want to make their operating processes even more environmentally friendly, resource-saving and efficient," Mueller said. "Forklift trucks, for example, are required to do more work in the shortest possible time. This means moving heavier loads and traveling further distances at higher speeds. This is where Continental comes in with its customized tire solutions."

And that is where Pyrum's rCB comes in, said Matthias Haufe, head of material development and industrialization at Continental Tires. Because not only does the carbon black it provides make Continental tires more durable and sustainable, it allows the industrial equipment to be more sustainable, too.

"In Pyrum, we have found a partner that has developed a particularly efficient pyrolysis process. Together, we want to further develop the process for the pyrolysis of end-of-life tires," explains Matthias Haufe, Head of Material Development and Industrialization at Continental Tires.

In fact, he said, consider the solid tires the start of something bigger for Continental and Pyrum.

"In the future, the recovered carbon black will also be used in other Continental compounds," Haufe said. "Jointly with Pyrum, the tire manufacturer is currently working on further optimizing and expanding the recycling of end-of-life tires using pyrolysis."