French tyre major Michelin aims to produce all its products using 80 per cent sustainable materials, with 100 per cent of tyres to be recycled by 2048.
Announcing its Vision Concept: From Ambition to Action, at Movin'On event here, the company said the target would be achieved by research programmes into bio-sourced materials like Biobutterfly and advanced technologies and materials that are developed through partnerships.
The world-wide recovery rate for tires is 70 per cent today and the recycling rate is 50 per cent, Michelin said in a statement.
At present the company's tyres are made using 28 per cent sustainable items -- 26 per cent bio-sourced materials like natural rubber, sunflower oil and limonene and 2 per cent recycled materials such as steel or recycled powdered tyres, it added.
For a sustainable future, Michelin is investing in high technology recycling technologies to be able to increase this content to 80 per cent sustainable materials, it added.
In order to develop sustainable materials Michelin had launched the Biobutterfly programme in 2012 in partnership with Axens and IFP Energies Nouvelles to create synthetic elastomers from biomass such as wood, straw or beet.
With an eye on developing new sustainable technologies, Michelin had recently acquired Lehigh Technologies, a specialist in high technology micro powders which are derived from recycled tires.
Christophe Rahier, Director of the High Technology Materials Business Line at Michelin, said: "This acquisition demonstrates Michelin's strategic determination to capitalise on its expertise in high-tech materials, in areas that extend beyond the field of tires. In particular, by promoting the use of innovative recycled materials from tires in a variety of non-pneumatic industrial sectors."
On the recycling front, Michelin said it is also investing in high technology recycling so that by 2048 tyres are 100 per cent recycled for the vehicles of the future.
To achieve these ambitions, Michelin proposes to develop partnerships and identify new ways to recycle tires, or new outlets for recycled tires, it added. The company said the potential gains when all of these ambitions are achieved, the savings will be equivalent to 33 million barrels of oil saved per year.
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