Sustainable tyre production
We know that MotoGP is working towards a non fossil fuel future, but Michelin have also been working hard in regards to pioneer the use of sustainable materials for MotoE race tyres.
This time last year, Michelin announced that 33 and 40 percent of the materials used to make its front and rear FIM MotoE World Cup tyres respectively were sustainable.
For 2022, the French firm’s specialists have succeeded in increasing that proportion to 46 percent in the case of its rear tyre, resulting in a weighted average of 40 percent based on the weights of the front and rear covers.
These figures sit perfectly with the Group’s aim to average 40 percent for all the tyres it markets by 2030.
The improvement seen in MotoE was obtained chiefly by increasing the quantities of both natural rubber and regenerated carbon black, a material provided by Michelin’s partner company Enviro which employs an innovative pyrolysis process to recycle of end-of-life tyres.
In addition, Michelin uses a wide selection of other biobased and recycled materials for the manufacture of its MotoE tyres, including:
- Orange and lemon peel,
- Pinetree resin,
- Sunflower oil,
- Scrap steel.
The use of sustainable materials for the design and manufacture of Michelin tyres is guided by a number of unwavering principles and these are, according to the French firm:
No detriment to ongoing progress with regard to either quality or performance. When increasing the proportion of sustainable materials used to make its tyres, Michelin does not downgrade any other quality factor, meaning that fundamentals such as safety, performance and longevity do not suffer. They may even be improved.
A pledge that the incorporation of these new materials results in a global improvement of the tyre’s environmental footprint at every stage of its life cycle, from its design and manufacture, to its use and recycling.
The real-world availability of these materials is taken into account to ensure their widescale deployment across all the ranges marketed by Michelin.
