The shortlist for the 2026 Tire Technology International Awards has been announced
The industry magazine Tire Technology International has presented the shortlist of nominees for the TTI Awards 2026, the winners of which will be announced during the Tire Technology Expo exhibition, which will take place in Hanover (Germany) from March 3 to 5. This year's list of nominees is as follows:
Tire Technology Environmental Achievement of the Year
Bridgestone — a truck tire with 70% eco-material content
Ceat — SustainMax (agricultural tire, "green" raw material share - 80%)
Continental — Conti Urban HA 5 NXT (urban bus tire, eco-material share - up to 60%)
Michelin - a passenger car tire consisting of 75% eco-materials
Pirelli — P Zero, the first serial tire with 70% "green" materials
Environmental Achievement of the Year in Manufacturing
Color Service - automation of depalletization and weighing of chemicals using AI
Comerio Ercole - telematics
Continental - increased water consumption efficiency
Michelin - Michelin Specialty Materials Recovery (MSMR) plant in Chile, which recycles oversized tires to produce new tire products
VMI - a rubber compound sampling unit with a closed air circulation system
Environmental Achievement of the Year - Contribution to Industry Development
Bekaert - certification of metal cord made from recycled materials
Bridgestone - tires for the World Solar Challenge, a race of vehicles using solar panels
Continental - development of a joint project with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Indonesia, aimed at increasing the income of local farmers and increasing transparency in supply chains
Endurica - improving tire recycling technologies through the study of the oxidation process and predictive modeling
Michelin - the BioButterfly project, aimed at obtaining biobutadiene
Solvay - large-scale implementation of eco-friendly high-dispersion silica
Chemicals and Materials Innovation of the Year
Flexsys - an alternative to the antioxidant 6PPD, which is believed to be the cause of fish death
OCSiAl - Tuball, carbon nanotubes that improve various tire characteristics
Silox - ActiECO+ Green, vulcanization activators that simplify the production process and reduce environmental impact
Skyhem Chemicals - Ecosky-3103, an eco-friendly rubber compound plasticizer
New Materials Innovation of the Year
Cabot Corporation - rC Regen CGX1000, recycled technical carbon
Continental - synthetic rubber made from used vegetable oil
Teijin Aramid - Twaron Next, para-aramid fibers made from eco-materials
Technology Breakthrough of the Year
Bridgestone - a method for collecting particles generated during tire wear
Continental - OLRAP, analysis of particles generated during tire wear
Falken - the use of "smart" tires made using Sensing Core technology in motorsport
Goodyear and TNO - ensuring the interaction of "smart" tires and autonomous emergency braking systems (AEB)
Michelin - development of digital tire twins
Supplier of the Year
Black Donuts - a wide range of services from tire development and testing to plant design
Color Service - automatic dosing systems
Comerio Ercole - various equipment for the tire industry
Uzer Makina - molds and vulcanization presses
VMI - various equipment for the tire industry
Concept Tire of the Year
Goodyear - the Eagle Xplore tire for the Citroen Elo concept car with a LED panel that informs about the pressure level
Hankook - an eco-friendly concept tire
Kumho - the Volume tire, designed to adapt to speed mode and road conditions
Michelin - the airless Lunar Airless Wheel (MiLAW) tire for lunar rovers
Nexen - the Nexist tire for urban autonomous air mobility (UAM) with vertical take-off capability
Tire of the Year
Apollo Tyres - Aspire 5 (summer passenger)
Bridgestone - Potenza Sport Evo (summer passenger, UUHP class)
Continental - VanContact A/S Eco (all-season commercial)
Michelin - Primacy 5 energy (summer passenger, with improved energy efficiency)
Pirelli - Cinturato Winter 3 (European-type passenger winter)
Manufacturer of the Year
Bridgestone
Continental
Goodyear
Hankook
Michelin
Nova Motorsport (created by purchasing the assets of Avon Tyres and the production of Carmac in Portugal)