Utilizing Bio-Based Materials and Recycled PET, Goodyear Introduces a Sustainable Tire

On January 4, 2023, Goodyear unveiled a demonstration tire made of 90% sustainable materials, including Recycled-Polyethylene Terephthalate (R-PET), demonstrating the company's capability to produce a consumer tire with a high percentage of sustainable materials. In 2023, the company plans to sell a tire made of 70% sustainable materials.

The demonstration tire comprises 12 distinct tire components and 17 sustainable ingredients, defined as bio-based/renewable, recycled material (R-PET), or material produced through sustainable practices.

This includes four distinct kinds of compound reinforcement carbon black made from methane, carbon dioxide, plant-based oil, and feedstock from tire pyrolysis at the end of a tire's life; soybean oil for making the compound flexible in different temperatures; silica made from the waste residue of rice husks (RHA silica) for better grip and lower fuel consumption, along with recycled polymers like R-PET.

Tire cords made of polyester that has been recycled from post-consumer bottles (R-PET), pine tree resins that are biodegradable for improved tire performance and traction; for structural reinforcement, bead wire and steel cord made of steel with much-recycled material; and mass balance polymers with ISCC certification made from bio- and bio-circular feedstocks.

According to the company, Goodyear is working on bringing a tire with up to 70% sustainable material content (like R-PET, etc.) to market in 2023, although bringing a tire composed of 90% sustainable materials will require additional collaboration with its supply base.

Goodyear's senior vice president of global operations and chief technology officer, Chris Helsel, stated that the past year had been "pivotal" to the tire manufacturer's goal of producing a completely sustainable tire.

"We looked into new technologies, found opportunities for more collaboration, and used the tenacity of our team not only to show that we can produce tires made of 90% sustainable materials but also tires made of up to 70% sustainable materials this year. Our team keeps showing how innovative it is and how committed it is to make the future better."

The subpar performance of the upstream crude oil market is the primary reason for the R-PET market's decline to this point currently. Because they could obtain better procurement deals than those for recycled plastics like R-PET, downstream manufacturing industries showed much interest in virgin plastics like PET.

ChemAnalyst's market intelligence team says that several US downstream businesses are switching from virgin plastics like PET to recycled plastics like R-PET because of multiple factors. As a direct consequence of this, it is anticipated that the market for recycled plastics like R-PET, which is currently stagnant, will experience a meteoric rise in the coming months and years.

In the first week of January 2023, R-PET was traded in the US for about USD 1,380 per MT (for clear flakes grade) on a FOB – Los Angeles basis.