Media Day Michelin 2021

During its first Media Day, at the Group’s global Research & Development center in Clermont-Ferrand, Michelin set out the challenges of the 100% sustainable tire.

By 2030, Michelin will integrate an average of 40% sustainable materials in its tires. In 2050, this rate will reach 100%.

We’re quick to think that a tire is simple and that they’re all alike. But this tire is not like the rest. No more today than yesterday, and even less tomorrow. Because tomorrow, this tire will be 100% sustainable at every stage of its life cycle.
Media Day

Act at every stage in its life cycle

Towards a 100% sustainable tire at every stage in its life cycle

In the face of the climate emergency, the 100% sustainable tire is a challenge that the Group must overcome in the next few years. To achieve this, Michelin is relying all its innovative power, and its capacity to develop new innovative ecosystem technologies, and is acting on every stage of a tire’s life cycle: Design, Manufacture, Logistics, Use, Collection and Recycling.

Learn more

Design

As of its design, the tire already integrates more bio-sourced or recycled materials (natural rubber, bio-sourced resins, recycled plastics, etc.). Michelin engineers are in action on numerous research projects carried out in partnership with startups, laboratories and universities. By 2030, Michelin will integrate an average of 40% sustainable materials in its tires. In 2050, this rate will reach 100%.

Learn more

Manufacture

When manufacturing tires, Michelin undertakes to reduce the environmental footprint of all its production factories, in terms of solvent and energy consumption, waste generated, CO2 emissions and water extraction. Since 2005, the Group has already reduced its impact by 50%.

Learn more

Logistics

For logistics, the Group undertakes to transport less, better and in a different way. Michelin therefore aims to reduce CO2 emissions from logistics by 15% by 2030, compared to 2018. It is also progressively developing alternative methods of transport, such as battery- and hydrogen powered electric vehicles and even sail-powered cargo ships. For example, the Group announced an initial partnership with Neoline, a ship-owner operating sail-powered vessels, for carbon-neutral transport on the Halifax-Saint-Nazaire route.

Learn more

Use

During the use stage, which concentrates between 75% and 90% of the tire’s environmental impact, Michelin is acting on several performance levers: low rolling resistance, performance over time, reducing wear particles and developing the connected tire.

Learn more

End-of-life and recycling

At the end of their life, Michelin aims to transform used tires into raw materials, which will be reintegrated into the production of new tires or the manufacture of new objects.

Learn more
Highlight

High times of the day

Feedback on the moments that marked this day dedicated to the challenges of the 100% sustainable tire through interventions, demonstrations and workshops to show the tire at every stage in its life cycle.

Partners

Workshops

The Group is joining forces with innovative partners in order to reach its goal of 100% bio-sourced or recycled materials in its tires by 2050.

 

> Discover our partners in video

BIOBUTTERFLY, manufacturing bio-sourced butadiene

 

Initiated at the end of 2012 by Michelin and its partners, IFP Energies Nouvelles and Axens, with the support of the ADEME, the BioButterfly project aims to produce butadiene from ethanol extracted from (plant) biomass, replacing butadiene produced from oil. Butadiene, along with styrene, is one of the elements in synthetic rubber, which is used in tire manufacture.

PYROWAVE, recycling plastic waste

 

In October 2020, Michelin and the Canadian company Pyrowave entered into a partnership to speed up the marketing of an innovative plastic waste recycling technology. This allows for increasing the rate of sustainable materials in Michelin tires, but also in other industries.

CARBIOS, enzymatic recycling

 

In April 2021, Michelin and Carbios took a decisive step towards the 100%-sustainable tire by applying the enzymatic recycling process developed by Carbios to the PET technical fibers used in tires. Thank to this revolutionary process for the infinite recycling of PET, Michelin succeeded in recreating a technical fiber using monomers from plastic waste that was depolymerized by Carbios, with the aim of creating a true circular economy.

ENVIRO, recycling end-of-life tires

 

Michelin joined forces with Enviro for the development and wide-scale industrialization of an innovative pyrolysis technology that allows end-of-life tires to be recycled. Recycling is a sizeable challenge for the tire industry and its clients. Every year,
1.6 billion tires come to the end of their lives. Thanks to this recycling technology, tires considered as used give life to new high-quality raw materials.

Download the press release

Subscribe to our newsletters

Enter your search and validate entrer