Sustainable tire production
We know that MotoGP is moving towards a fossil fuel-free futurebut Michelin is also working to pioneer the use of sustainable materials for MotoE racing tires.
At this time last year, Michelin announced that 33 and 40% of the materials used to make its FIM MotoE World Cup front and rear tires, respectively, were sustainable.
For 2022, the French company’s specialists succeeded in increasing that ratio to 46% for its rear tire case, resulting in an average weighting of 40% based on the weight of the front and rear tires. after.
These figures are fully in line with the Group’s goal of achieving an average of 40% for all tires it puts on the market by 2030.
The improvement seen in MotoE is mainly due to increased quantities of both natural rubber and regenerated carbon black, a material supplied by Michelin partner Enviro that uses an innovative pyrolysis process to Recycle end-of-life tires.
In addition, Michelin uses a wide selection of other bio- and recycled materials to manufacture its MotoE tires, including:
- Orange and lemon peels,
- Pinetree Resin,
- Sunflower oil,
- Scrap steel.
The use of sustainable materials for the design and manufacture of Michelin tires is guided by several solid principles and these, according to the French company:
Without prejudice to ongoing progress in quality or performance. In increasing the proportion of sustainable materials used in the production of its tires, Michelin does not downgrade any other quality factors, which means that fundamental factors such as safety, performance and longevity do not affected. They can even be improved.
Committed that the combination of these new materials will lead to a global improvement in the company’s environmental footprint at every stage of its lifecycle, from design and production to use and recycling .
The real-world availability of these materials warrants their wide-scale deployment across all ranges that Michelin markets.
