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The latex of para rubber trees is used to make natural rubber, one of the main components of tyres. Tires benefit from special performance characteristics provided by natural rubber. It is very strong against fatigue cracks and tearing.
The global natural rubber tire market accounted for $XX Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach $XX Billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of XX% from 2024 to 2030.
Natural rubber is extensively used by Nokian Tires. One of the main basic materials used to make the tires made by Nokian Tyres is natural rubber. Therefore, it only makes sense that we would participate in the effort to create a natural rubber supply chain that is more environmentally friendly. In and of itself, natural rubber is a renewable and sustainable resource.
Natural rubber has the potential to have good social, environmental, and economic effects if it is grown, produced, and processed in a sustainable manner. The most crucial stage in the supply chain for a tire firm is seen to be the sustainable sourcing and purchase of natural rubber. Tropical woods are typically where natural rubber is grown, frequently on modest, family-run operations.
It is a well-known fact that the natural rubber supply chain is complicated and disjointed, with more than 85% of the world’s natural rubber produced by small farm holders.
Farmers/plantations, dealers/intermediaries, processors, traders, producers like Nokian Tires, and lastly consumers of rubber goods make up the natural rubber supply chain. Typically, farmers and plantations sell the milky latex to neighborhood merchants, who then transfer the latex to processing facilities.
Following purification, processing, and processing, the plants sell the natural rubber to distributors or directly to consumers, such as Nokian Tires. Nokian Tires buys natural rubber from traders and processing businesses.
To alter the entire growing process and supply chain, GM will collaborate with tire manufacturers such as Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, and Michelin. GM aims to create a simpler, more transparent system that can track the rubber back to the farm where it was produced.
According to the press release, they plan to only use rubber from environmentally friendly farms while “helping to propel the industry toward net-zero deforestation and safeguard human and labor rights,” and they hope to enlist even more tire producers.
The BMW Group is stepping up its efforts in the area of sustainability, becoming the first automaker in the world to outfit its vehicles with tires made of natural rubber that is certified to be sustainable as well as rayon, a material made from wood that is used to stiffen the tires.
In the beginning, the company would only purchase 22-inch tires from Pirelli and utilize them on the BMW X5 xDrive45e. The intricate supply chain for natural rubber and rayon is certified in accordance with the stringent guidelines of the independent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) today announced plans to introduce Firestone Fire hawk race tires made with guayule natural rubber grown and extracted at the company’s guayule R&D facilities in Arizona as part of a larger initiative to accelerate the use of sustainable technologies in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge will mark the debut of the guayule race tire, which has a brand-new green sidewall. In addition to providing guayule race tires, Bridgestone will work with Penske and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) to use a Freightliner e Cascadia from Penske Truck Leasing’s electric vehicle fleet to deliver all Firestone Fire hawk race tires to IMS.
Bridgestone to Debut Race Tire Made with Natural Rubber from American Southwest Desert shrub. Bridgestone is using racing as a proving ground to demonstrate the performance of a new sustainable natural rubber derived from guayule, a desert shrub grown in the American Southwest.
Firestone Fire hawk race tires made with guayule-derived natural rubber will be introduced at the Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge and will make their competition debut as the alternate race tire at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville. Bridgestone has committed to carbon neutrality and the manufacturing of tires from 100% renewable materials, aligning with the “Emotion”, “Ecology”, and “Energy” values of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES aims to achieve the “most sustainable month of May” in the history of the racing series. In addition to supplying guayule race tires, Bridgestone will also partner with Penske and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) to transport all Firestone Fire hawk race tires to IMS via a Freightliner e Cascadia from Penske Truck Leasing’s fleet of electric vehicles during the month of May.
IMS has installed a 150kW high power electric charging station at the track to allow for convenient charging. The collaboration between Bridgestone and Penske is aimed at advancing sustainable solutions in motorsports, reducing the sport’s impact on the environment and helping ensure fans can enjoy the thrills of racing for generations to come.
The introduction of guayule natural rubber to America’s preeminent open-wheel racing series speaks to the confidence we have in the technology and its promise as a scalable, sustainable and domestic source of our industry’s most vital raw material. It will take partnership and collaboration to combat the impacts of global climate change and they are proud to partner with Penske, INDYCAR and IMS to advance the future of sustainable mobility.
Bridgestone aims to commercialize use of sustainable guayule natural rubber in tires by 2030, creating a promising new domestic industry. Guayule is a heat tolerant, woody shrub that thrives in America’s desert south west. The shrub can be farmed with existing row crop equipment, saving costs for farmers.
Guayule creates up to 10 new industrial processing jobs per 1,000 acres of harvested crop. Bridgestone believes guayule rubber has the potential to have a lasting economic impact, while reducing the energy and other environmental impacts associated with the transportation of rubber sourced overseas.
