Birch bark can become a new raw material for the tire industry

Nokian Tyres, in collaboration with the Swedish company Reselo BM, will continue to explore the possibility of using a new eco-friendly rubber, Reselo Rubber, as a raw material. This rubber is made from birch bark residues generated as waste in the global pulp and paper, as well as plywood industries, representing a raw material from a fully renewable source.

“Based on the initial laboratory tests, the new material has significant potential to replace traditional fossil-based raw materials in tire production,” said Heini Siikonen, Senior Manager, Scientific Development and Sustainability at Nokian. “It’s not only a raw material from a renewable source, but we also believe it can improve the driving characteristics of tires. We are pleased to continue joint development with Reselo and hope that their material will be used in Nokian tires in the future.”

Reselo previously won the Fast Race, Big Change competition organized by Nokian as part of its search for new solutions to improve tire sustainability. Preliminary testing showed that Reselo Rubber could potentially become a raw material for tire production, and now the parties will expand their collaboration to make the new material suitable for industrial-scale use.

“We are proud to work with Nokian Tyres to increase the sustainability of the largest segment of the rubber industry,” said Henrik Ötendahl, CEO and co-founder of Reselo. “The partnership with Nokian is an important step towards achieving our ambitious goal of revolutionizing the industry with highly efficient biobased rubber.”

By 2030, Nokian aims to increase the proportion of eco-friendly raw materials (recycled or from renewable sources) to 50%. For example, in June 2024, the company presented the Green Step Ligna concept tire, which is made using UPM BioMotion RFF - a lignin-based material that serves as an alternative to traditional carbon black. Additionally, in August, Nokian announced that its factory in Nokia, Finland, had received the ISCC Plus environmental certificate, allowing it to use more certified raw materials.

“We believe that using Reselo’s rubber can be one of the steps towards achieving our goals, and we are pleased that they will be our partners and support us in our endeavors,” said Teemu Soini, Vice President, Innovation and Development at Nokian.