Michelin will use 40% renewable raw materials in 2030 and 100% in 2050.
The commitment of all kinds of companies to be more sustainable is not limited, in the case of cars, to car manufacturers, but extends to companies that specialize in the supply of components and services, some of them authentic colossus industries such as Michelin. The tire brand has been polishing its environmental policy for years, the goals of which are combined in a strategy called All sustainable.
When we talk about tires, the only contact element between the car and the road, there are several aspects that distinguish some products from others. For example, durability, as some include longevity for better performance; performance, where consideration is given to, among other things, grip – dry and wet – or tire yield; and efficiency, an area in which wheels that allow for lower fuel consumption and which can generally be considered more sustainable as their performance Due to the low environmental footprint of its production processes themselves.
All these issues are very relevant from an environmental point of view, but before analyzing them, it is convenient to deal with the roof manufacturing processes. Michelin has proposed, among other targets, 40% renewable raw materials by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Today, the percentage of these materials is already 28%.
In this regard, its current main projects concern the production of butadiene, a synthetic rubber obtained from petroleum, from biological sources, as well as the production of isoprene (natural rubber) from various types of biomass. The Clermont-Ferrand firm is also working on a new plant-based adhesive resin and using sunflower oil instead of synthetic oils in its coatings.
Reducing the use of water, waste and CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases is also vital in production processes. In this area, the goal is for the company’s factories, such as the one in Valladolid, opened since 1973, which use energy from 100% renewable sources, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50% in 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. .
Tire durability, which we mentioned at the beginning, is also closely related to sustainability and savings. Logically, a tire that lasts longer gives you more mileage, so the need to replace it increases over time. And, of course, if the consumer takes longer to replace it, less will be produced and therefore the environmental impact that a tire currently produces in its production and disposal will be reduced.
Michelin works to guarantee the performance of the tires until the end of their useful life, including the legal limit of 1.6 millimeters of tread depth. End-of-life use of all tires would save, they estimate, around 400 million tires and 35 million tons of CO2 per year.
Good mobility, low consumption
But we can’t forget that the biggest environmental impact is not during the manufacturing process or when the tires are not in use. 86% of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere are generated by the use of tires. For this reason, Michelin pays special attention to tire tread, one of the main factors affecting fuel consumption, which in turn is directly responsible for CO2 emissions.
It follows from this that the lower the resistance, the less energy is consumed and, as a result, less toxic gases are produced. In other words, for every liter of fuel not consumed, we avoid the emission of about 2.66 kilos of CO2.
Given this scenario, the technology that tires incorporate is vital to reducing the carbon footprint. For Michelin, the focus is on producing wheels that are more efficient in terms of fuel economy, as well as more durable. In 2030, they had to improve their energy efficiency by 10% compared to 2020, according to the goals of their strategy. All sustainable.
An outstanding example of innovation to be noted by the French firm is the racing tire used in the last 24 hours of Le Mans, designed for the H24 hydrogen fuel cell electric prototype and composed of 53% sustainable raw materials.
Since 1992, Michelin has also developed five generations of low-consumption tires, three of them for passenger cars and two for trucks, representing almost 14 million liters of fuel savings and 35 million tons of CO2 less; That is, a 40% reduction in both quantities.
Finally, sustainability extends beyond the useful life of the covers. In addition to being part of an integrated used tire management system such as Signus, as is mandatory in Spain, the company has signed agreements with companies and startups Innovators whose achievements in this field offer limitless prospects.
The technologies developed go far beyond the world of tires, allowing them to be used in other industries that will also benefit from the use of renewable and, on paper, infinitely reusable raw materials. Thanks to them, it is possible, for example, to recycle polystyrene and recover carbon – a material that is produced as a result of incomplete combustion of petroleum products.– or pyrolysis oil from used tires.
Source: El Diario
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