Continental will use recycled carbon black in the production of passenger tires
Continental has signed a long-term purchasing agreement with Pyrum Innovations, a company specializing in the production of recycled technical carbon (rCB) from recycled tires, based in Dillingen, Saarland, Germany.
The companies have been collaborating since 2022, when they signed a joint development agreement, and as part of the expanded partnership, they plan to use rCB in the mass production of passenger tires. Currently, recycled carbon black is already being used in the production of solid tires for forklifts by Continental.
Technical carbon is one of the key raw materials for tire manufacturers, and its addition to rubber compounds increases the strength and durability of tires. At the same time, the use of rCB obtained from old tires reduces the consumption of fossil raw materials and carbon dioxide emissions. In Continental's passenger tires, the carbon black content, which gives them their black color, ranges from 15 to 20% depending on the model, and the partnership with Pyrum is expected to help the company move closer to achieving its goal of increasing the share of eco-friendly raw materials to 40% by 2030.
According to Jorge Almeida, Director of Sustainable Development at Continental's Tires division, to increase the eco-friendliness of products, it is necessary to change the approach and consider used tires not just as waste, but as a source of new raw materials. "Together with Pyrum, we are creating new high-efficiency processes to use as many components and materials as possible from recycled tires in the production of new products," he said.
Continental is already producing tires using recycled materials, such as recycled rubber and steel, as well as polyester obtained from PET bottles that would otherwise be sent to an incinerator or landfill.
"The expansion of our partnership with Continental is a very important step for our company," said Pascal Klein, CEO of Pyrum. "To enable them to use our recycled technical carbon in the mass production of passenger tires in the future, we are continuously improving its properties as part of our joint developments, and we have already been able to achieve the fact that all new forklift tires produced at Continental's plant in Korbach, Hesse, Germany, contain our raw material."
Continental adds that it intends to fully transition to the use of eco-friendly materials by 2050, and used tires will be part of a closed cycle and become raw materials for the production of new tires.
In 2023, the bicycle tire manufacturer Schwalbe began using recycled carbon black from Pyrum.