At the 2021 Movin’On Summit (June 1-4), Michelin unveiled a new, prototype racing tire containing 46% sustainable materials.

This new tire was designed for use on the GreenGT Mission H24 hydrogen-powered prototype developed for endurance racing.

With its totally new innovation engineered for motorsports, Michelin has found what many observers thought was impossible: a way to make a tire with high sustainable content that still delivers superior on-track performance.

Increased recycled content

This very high percentage was achieved by increasing the tire’s natural rubber content and using recycled carbon black recovered from end-of-life tires.

Other bio-sourced or recycled sustainable materials used in the tire include such everyday items as orange and lemon rind, sunflower oil, pine resin and recycled steel from aluminum cans.

Given its status as a real-world technological laboratory; motorsports has provided Michelin with an ideal and unique opportunity to develop and test new high-tech solutions in extreme usage conditions.

With this innovative partnership, Michelin is showcasing its ability to incorporate an ever-higher proportion of sustainable materials into its products without compromising on their performance, setting the stage for future sustainable tire offerings in real-world applications.

Longer-term goals

In 2021, Michelin announced its commitment to using 100% sustainable materials in all its tires by 2050.

The company says this commitment will reach an initial milestone in 2030, with a Group-wide target of having 40% sustainable materials in its tires by that date.

Alongside its commitment to integrating sustainable materials into its tires, Michelin also uses eco-design processes to attenuate its tires’ environmental impact at every stage in their lifecycle, from raw materials sourcing and production to road use and recycling.