Michelin’s new racing tires have better performance and less climate impact due to recovered carbon black from Enviro
Gothenburg, Sweden – Tire manufacturer Michelin has produced a new racing tire, comprising between 33 and 40 percent recovered material, ahead of the MotoE World Cup motorcycle racing series. The new and more sustainable racing tire that was presented earlier this week contains, among other materials, recovered carbon black that was produced using Enviro’s recycling technology for end-of-life tires.
MotoE is a racing series for electric motorcycles that is being held for the third year. Michelin is the supplier of tyres to the race participants and, ahead of this year’s season, has produced a tyre that has significantly less environmental impact due to its high content of recycled materials, including recovered carbon black supplied by Enviro. According to Michelin, tests during the spring showed that the new and more sustainable tyres contribute to shorter lap times, while they also heat up more quickly, with improved grip as a result.
“Naturally, it is fantastic that only a few months after we entered our strategic partnership, Michelin has already introduced a racing tyre that is not only more sustainable due to our technology, but has also proved to increase performance. It is just further confirmation that there is no contradiction between increased sustainability and high quality, which bodes very well for the continued development of products based on our recovered materials,” says Thomas Sörensson, CEO of Enviro.
Earlier this year, Michelin presented highly ambitious plans related to sustainability and announced, among other intentions, that all tires will be manufactured using only sustainable materials by 2050. The target for 2030 is that 40 percent of all constituent materials will be sustainable. Michelin’s initiative to produce sustainable racing tires reflects these ambitions and the new tires for MotoE are well on the way to achieving the intermediate target for 2030 – the rear tires used for this season already contain 40 percent recovered material, while the front tires have a somewhat lower content at 33 percent.
Michelin recently held a capital markets day at which sustainability was a major and important theme. In most of the presentations by the company’s management, Enviro and its recycling technology were highlighted as a key factor in Michelin’s ability to achieve its sustainability goals. When the new racing tyre was presented, the strategic partnership with Enviro was depicted as decisive in the development of the tyre.
“It is quite evident that Michelin genuinely intends to make use of the opportunities for enhanced sustainability offered by our strategic partnership. It is highly positive for Enviro and for recovered carbon black that Michelin is using motorcycle racing to showcase its investments,” says Thomas Sörensson.
More information about Michelin’s sustainability investment on their motorsport website.