- What Makes a Tyre Material Sustainable
- Sustainability Strategy and Goals
- Natural Rubber
- Green Silica from Agricultural Residues
- Recovered Carbon Black (rCB)
- Bio-Based Processing Oils and Plasticisers
- Recycled Polyester and Textile Fibres
- Progress vs. Target Tracker
- Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
- Measurable Impacts
- Challenges and Areas for Improvement
- Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
- Comparisons to Industry Competitors
- What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Sustainable tyre materials represent one of the most commercially active and technically complex frontiers in manufacturing today. The global sustainable tyre materials market was valued at USD 27.41 billion in 2024, up from USD 24.32 billion in 2023, and is projected to reach USD 63.33 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 14.64%. Parallel specialty market estimates place the fast-growing advanced sustainable material segment at USD 218.6 million in 2024, expanding to USD 3,294.4 million by 2034 at a CAGR of 28.1%, reflecting the split between conventional eco-tyre production and genuinely circular, bio-based or recycled-input manufacturing.
What Makes a Tyre Material Sustainable
A conventional passenger car tyre contains 200 or more distinct chemical compounds, with the six primary categories by mass being natural rubber (around 14%), synthetic rubber (27%), carbon black (28%), steel (14 to 15%), textile fibres and polyester (5 to 6%), and chemical additives including antiozonants, accelerators, and processing oils (the remainder). Sustainable material strategy targets each category separately.
The four recognised pathways to sustainable tyre materials are:
- Bio-based inputs: replacing fossil-derived synthetics with plant-derived equivalents such as dandelion rubber, soybean oil, rice husk silica, and bio-butadiene
- Recycled content: incorporating recovered carbon black (rCB), recycled polyester (rPET), and devulcanised rubber recovered from end-of-life tyres (ELTs)
- Responsibly sourced natural rubber: certified natural rubber from smallholder farms audited against deforestation and social compliance standards
- Extended-life design: materials engineered for lower wear rates that reduce tyre replacement frequency and total material throughput per vehicle
Source
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/11/04/2973768/28124/en/Sustainable-Tire-Materials-Market-Forecast-2025-2030
https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/sustainable-tire-materials-market
https://www.rematec.com/news/process-and-technology/rubber-tyre-recycling-and-the-circular-economy
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/su/d5su00177c
Sustainability Strategy and Goals
The industry’s material sustainability frameworks align with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation circular economy model and the UN SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production). Manufacturer commitments converge on three shared milestones: 40 to 55% recycled and renewable material content by 2030, full ISCC PLUS supply chain certification for sustainable material claims, and 100% sustainable material content by 2050.
Natural Rubber
Natural rubber (NR) remains a core tyre input but faces supply, geopolitical, and deforestation risks. The vast majority of global NR comes from Hevea brasiliensis plantations concentrated in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, making supply chains vulnerable to weather events, disease, and EUDR compliance requirements.
- Russian dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz) produces poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) comparable in quality to Hevea rubber, with over 10 major corporations including Bridgestone, Continental, and Goodyear investing in commercial development.
- Guayule, a shrub native to the American southwest, has been used by Bridgestone to make small batches of IndyCar race tyres, but no commercial-scale mass production for road tyres had been confirmed as of March 2026.
- Tyres made from Russian dandelion rubber exhibit comparable resilience to Hevea-derived equivalents in preliminary testing, reducing dependency on a single-origin natural rubber supply.
- Michelin is committed to using sustainable natural rubber as a proportion of its 40% renewable or recycled material target for 2030, using butadiene produced from ethanol derived from biomass as a synthetic rubber bridge.
Source
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/su/d5su00177c
https://www.michelin.com/en/sustainability/entreprise/planet/natural-resources-preservation
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1144568_bridgestone-s-latest-tires-have-55-recycled-and-renewable-materials
https://www.vinachem.com.vn/articles/technological-breakthroughs/green-materials-for-tires-how-the-global-tire-industry-is-changing/
Green Silica from Agricultural Residues
Silica replaced a portion of carbon black in tyre tread compounds beginning in the early 1990s and is now credited with reducing braking distances by almost 50% and materially cutting rolling resistance and fuel consumption. Conventional precipitated silica is made from quartz sand through an energy-intensive process consuming 1,194 to 1,955 kg of coal per tonne and emitting 10 to 18 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of output.
- Rice husk silica (RHS) requires only 238 kg of coal per tonne, an 80% reduction, and produces 0.85 tonnes of CO2 per tonne, a 92% emissions reduction compared to conventional silica production.
- Continental confirmed in July 2025 that it is using rice husk silica manufactured by Solvay in Italy across its whole tyre portfolio, using husks sourced from Asian agricultural production and Italian risotto rice processing.
- RHS also demonstrates better dispersion in rubber compounds, a higher reinforcement index, and lower Mooney viscosity than conventional silica, combining environmental benefit with performance improvement.
- Additional agricultural silica sources under active research include bamboo leaves, bagasse, and corn stalks, which are abundant in Southeast Asia and Latin America and represent scalable alternatives to quartz.
Source
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
https://www.vinachem.com.vn/articles/technological-breakthroughs/green-materials-for-tires-how-the-global-tire-industry-is-changing/
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/su/d5su00177c
Recovered Carbon Black (rCB)
Carbon black constitutes up to 28% of a tyre’s mass and is the single largest petrochemical input by weight. High-quality rCB derived from end-of-life tyre pyrolysis can replace up to 25% of virgin carbon black in new tyre manufacturing. Pyrolysis of ELTs also recovers aromatic hydrocarbon-rich oils and a combustible gas suitable as a natural gas substitute, making the process a multi-product circular recovery chain.
- Continental partnered with Pyrum Innovations in 2025 to optimise tyre-to-tyre pyrolysis carbon black recovery, initially using rCB in forklift tyres with an active programme to qualify it for passenger car tyre applications.
- Pirelli launched mass-produced P Zero tyres for Range Rover in July 2025 with more than 70% sustainable content, incorporating circular carbon black derived from pyrolysis oil from used tyres, with full-scale production confirmed for 2025.
- Schwalbe has incorporated rCB from end-of-life bicycle tyres into 70% of its product range since 2023, reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 80% per unit compared to virgin carbon black without quality degradation.
- rCB technology leaders have achieved greater than 85% material recovery rates from ELTs through proprietary pyrolysis innovations, improving process safety, product consistency, and reducing environmental impact per tonne processed.
Source
https://www.rematec.com/news/process-and-technology/rubber-tyre-recycling-and-the-circular-economy
https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/features/rcb-black-gold-from-end-of-life-tires.html
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
Bio-Based Processing Oils and Plasticisers
Conventional tyre processing oils are derived from crude oil, including distillate aromatic extract (DAE), which carries polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination risks. Bio-based alternatives are now commercially tested and in some cases deployed at scale.
- Modified soybean oil (MSO) at 6% loading shows the best plasticising effect in tyre rubber, improving crosslink density, aging resistance, and abrasion resistance simultaneously.
- Palm oil performs comparably to DAE in pneumatic tyre applications, improving rubber-filler interaction and reducing crosslink density, with successful tests in production tyres reported as of 2025.
- Cashew nut shell liquid (cardanol) acts as both a plasticiser and a co-vulcanisation activator, with promising results for off-road tyre applications where high torque resistance is required.
- Coconut shell extract (CSE) functions as a dual bio-coupling agent capable of replacing traditional organosilane coupling agents in silica dispersion systems, a previously petroleum-dependent step in high-performance tyre compounding.
Source
https://www.vinachem.com.vn/articles/technological-breakthroughs/green-materials-for-tires-how-the-global-tire-industry-is-changing/
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/su/d5su00177c
Recycled Polyester and Textile Fibres
Polyester cords reinforce the carcass of passenger and light truck tyres and currently originate predominantly from virgin PET. Continental announced in late 2024 that it is transitioning all new car and light truck tyres to high-performance polyester fibres made entirely from sustainable PET by 2030. JLR announced in July 2025 what it described as an industry-first commitment: introducing tyres with more than 70% renewable and recycled materials, including silica from rice husks, recycled carbon black, and recycled steel, across its new vehicle range.
Source
https://www.tyre-trends.com/news/continental-boosts-sustainability-in-tyre-production-with-recycled-materials
https://media.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2025/07/jlr-makes-industry-first-commitment-introduce-tyres-made-renewable-materials-its
Progress vs. Target Tracker
Source
https://www.michelin.com/en/sustainability/entreprise/planet/natural-resources-preservation
https://www.bridgestone.com/responsibilities/environment/resources/
https://tyre-trends.com/materials/bridgestone-unveils-industry-first-tyre-with-70-recycled-materials
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
https://media.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2025/07/jlr-makes-industry-first-commitment-introduce-tyres-made-renewable-materials-its
Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
Five innovations are actively reshaping the tyre material supply chain through 2030:
- ISCC PLUS mass balance certification: The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS framework validates sustainable material content through the full supply chain using a mass balance approach, allowing manufacturers to track alternative material quantities in mixed-production environments without dedicated production runs. Bridgestone’s M870, Potenza Sport A, and Goodyear’s EDS tyre all carry ISCC PLUS certification, setting a market baseline for procurement-level sustainability claims.
- Pyrolysis-derived rCB at tyre-to-tyre scale: Continental’s partnership with Pyrum Innovations and Pirelli’s P Zero production in July 2025 confirm that rCB recovered from ELT pyrolysis has crossed from pilot into commercial deployment. The next technical milestone is qualifying rCB grades for safety-critical tyre applications such as tread and sidewall compounds in passenger car tyres.
- Graphene and hybrid nanofiller systems: Research published in 2025 confirmed that graphene oxide combined with amine-modified nanosilica in natural rubber composites enhances tensile strength, abrasion resistance, and heat dissipation while reducing reliance on carbon black as a primary reinforcement filler. ZFC-functionalised graphene integrated with silica improves interfacial adhesion and rubber matrix integrity, reducing wear particle generation rates.
- Devulcanised rubber reintegration: Waste tyre rubber devulcanisation in planetary extruder systems breaks sulfur crosslinks selectively, allowing reclaimed rubber to be recompounded into new tyre production at measurable quality levels. Research published in 2025 confirmed this process as a viable industrial-scale approach for closing the rubber circularity loop.
- Bio-based synthetic rubbers: Michelin is producing bio-butadiene from ethanol derived from biomass as a direct feedstock substitute for petrochemical styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), one of the most energy and emissions-intensive inputs in conventional tyre manufacturing. This approach maintains SBR performance specifications while replacing the fossil carbon origin.
Source
https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/features/rcb-black-gold-from-end-of-life-tires.html
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/su/d5su00177c
https://xray.greyb.com/tires/bio-based-materials
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214993724003737
Measurable Impacts
The upstream emissions impact of switching to sustainable tyre materials is significant. Rice husk silica alone reduces silica production CO2 emissions by 92% compared to quartz-derived silica. Rematec data confirms that rCB use reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 80% compared to virgin carbon black production from fossil fuels.
- Bridgestone’s recycled and renewable material ratio rose from 37.0% in FY2020 to 39.9% in FY2024 across all production, with the Potenza Sport A at 55% and the M870 at 70% representing the leading-edge commercial benchmarks.
- Michelin increased its renewable and recycled material content from 28% in 2021 to 31% in 2024, a 3 percentage point gain over three years against a 9 percentage point target gap to reach 40% by 2030.
- Continental expects its 26% share in 2024 to increase by 2 to 3 percentage points per year, meaning the brand projects 34 to 38% by 2028 if the trajectory holds, requiring acceleration to meet the 40% target by 2030.
- ELT components available for recovery include 45% natural and synthetic rubber, 28% carbon black, 13% steel, and 14% textile and other materials, meaning a single fully circular pyrolysis system recovers inputs across all four major material categories from one waste stream.
- Sustainable alternatives such as rice husk silica and dandelion rubber remain 2 to 3 times costlier than conventional inputs at current production scales, and Michelin’s own analysis notes this cost premium as the primary barrier to faster commercial adoption.
Source
https://www.bridgestone.com/responsibilities/esgdata/
https://www.michelin.com/en/sustainability/entreprise/planet/natural-resources-preservation
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
https://www.rematec.com/news/process-and-technology/rubber-tyre-recycling-and-the-circular-economy
https://conference.ase.ro/papers/2025/25025.pdf
Challenges and Areas for Improvement
Supply scale is the dominant constraint across all sustainable material categories. Bio-based silica, dandelion rubber, recycled carbon black, and bio-derived SBR each exist at a commercially demonstrated level but not yet at the volumes required to serve annual global tyre production of approximately 3 billion units. Sustainable alternatives remain 2 to 3 times more expensive than conventional inputs, creating an affordability barrier for volume-market tyre applications serving fleet operators, emerging-market consumers, and budget segments.
Natural rubber deforestation risk is not yet fully resolved by industry commitments. Only 80% of TIP member companies have time-bound responsible sourcing targets as of 2024, meaning one in five of the world’s largest tyre manufacturers lacks a published timeline for closing deforestation exposure in their NR supply chains. EUDR enforcement timelines apply to rubber operators and traders placing products on the EU market, with compliance requirements now active for large operators.
The mass balance approach, used by Bridgestone, Continental, and Goodyear to certify sustainable material content, allocates alternative material inputs to specific products on a balance-sheet basis rather than segregating them physically in production. This methodology is accepted under ISCC PLUS but is contested by some sustainability standards bodies as an imprecise representation of actual product-level environmental impact, creating potential credibility risk for manufacturers relying solely on mass balance claims without physical segregation data.
Source
https://conference.ase.ro/papers/2025/25025.pdf
https://www.bridgestone.com/responsibilities/environment/resources/
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
https://tireindustryproject.org/news/latest-kpi-report-demonstrates-significant-progress-made-by-tire-industry-project-member-co
Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
The green tyre market, which integrates low rolling resistance, bio-based materials, and reduced environmental footprint, is projected to expand from USD 38.2 billion in 2025 to USD 89.7 billion by 2035 at a CAGR of 8.9%. Every major manufacturer’s 2050 roadmap converges on 100% sustainable material content, with the 2030 milestones serving as the first material commercial test of whether these ambitions are operationally grounded or aspirational placeholders.
Long-term priorities centre on three supply chain shifts: scaling commercial natural rubber alternatives (dandelion, guayule) to reduce Hevea dependency, qualifying rCB grades for all safety-critical tyre applications including tread and bead compounds, and commercialising bio-butadiene and bio-styrene production at volumes sufficient to replace petrochemical SBR as the primary synthetic rubber input. The chemical recycling and devulcanisation pathway offers the most direct route to a closed-loop tyre material system, where ELT-derived inputs re-enter new tyre production at high enough quality to replace virgin materials without performance compromise.
Source
https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/green-tires-market
https://www.michelin.com/en/sustainability/entreprise/planet/natural-resources-preservation
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/su/d5su00177c
https://www.rematec.com/news/process-and-technology/rubber-tyre-recycling-and-the-circular-economy
Comparisons to Industry Competitors
Competitor sustainability reports:
https://www.michelin.com/en/sustainability/entreprise/planet/natural-resources-preservation
https://www.bridgestone.com/responsibilities/environment/resources/
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
https://xray.greyb.com/tires/bio-based-materials
https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/features/rcb-black-gold-from-end-of-life-tires.html
What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Three developments between now and mid-2027 will determine whether the sustainable tyre materials sector crosses from premium demonstration into volume commercial deployment:
- rCB qualification for passenger car tread and sidewall compounds (2026 to 2027): Continental and Pyrum Innovations are actively working to qualify recovered carbon black for passenger car tyre applications beyond current forklift tyre use. A confirmed safety and performance qualification for passenger car tread compounds would remove the most significant technical barrier to rCB replacing a meaningful fraction of the 28% virgin carbon black content in global tyre production, and would set a precedent for Pirelli, Bridgestone, and others to accelerate their own rCB integration programmes.
- Goodyear EDS commercial launch with full supply chain disclosure: Goodyear demonstrated the ElectricDrive Sustainable-Material tyre in November 2024 with ISCC-certified inputs, targeting 100% sustainable material content by 2030. A commercial launch with disclosed production volumes, supply chain partnerships for bio-based carbon black and recycled polyester, and a price point in the mid-market segment would confirm whether Goodyear’s 2030 ambition is a credible product strategy or a prototype narrative.
- Cost parity progress for bio-based alternatives: Sustainable alternatives including rice husk silica and dandelion rubber are currently 2 to 3 times more expensive than conventional inputs. Any confirmed commercial-scale supply agreement that drives bio-silica or bio-rubber costs within 20 to 30% of fossil equivalents will be a structural market signal that the cost parity barrier is resolving, and will likely accelerate OEM procurement commitments for high-sustainable-content tyres across their standard vehicle ranges.
Source
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
https://xray.greyb.com/tires/bio-based-materials
https://conference.ase.ro/papers/2025/25025.pdf
The sustainable tyre materials sector has moved further and faster in the past 24 months than in the preceding decade. Bridgestone’s 70% recycled and renewable M870 commercial tyre, Pirelli’s P Zero mass production at 70%+ sustainable content, and Continental’s deployment of rice husk silica across its full portfolio in 2025 are genuine commercial milestones, not concept demonstrations. The 40% milestone that most manufacturers target for 2030 now looks achievable for the leaders, but laggards without active rCB and bio-silica programmes face a widening gap as OEM procurement requirements tighten.
The critical unresolved challenge is supply chain scale. The materials exist. The certification frameworks exist. The OEM demand is forming, as demonstrated by JLR’s industry-first 70% sustainable tyre commitment in July 2025. What does not yet exist is the industrial production capacity to supply 3 billion tyres per year at 40 to 70% sustainable material content. Closing that gap requires investment in rCB pyrolysis capacity, agricultural silica processing infrastructure, and alternative rubber cultivation programmes, at a scale that no single tyre manufacturer can fund unilaterally.
Three strategic takeaways for practitioners:
- Use ISCC PLUS certification as a minimum procurement standard, not a premium signal: Multiple manufacturers now produce ISCC PLUS-certified commercial tyres at scale. Procurement teams that have not yet required ISCC PLUS certification in tyre supply agreements are behind the commercial curve, not ahead of it. Set a 2026 procurement deadline for ISCC-certified product only.
- Map your supply chain’s rCB and bio-silica exposure: The first manufacturers to secure long-term supply agreements with Pyrum Innovations, Solvay (rice husk silica), and equivalent bio-material processors will lock in cost and availability advantages as EU regulatory demand converts buyer interest into compliance obligation. Begin supplier mapping now rather than waiting for regulatory mandates.
- Track the cost parity curve for dandelion rubber actively: Bridgestone, Continental, and Goodyear all have active dandelion rubber programmes. When the first commercial supply agreement at volume is announced, Hevea natural rubber sourcing risk profiles will reprice rapidly. Procurement teams managing long-term NR contracts should build dandelion rubber price and availability data into their scenario modelling from 2026 onward.
Source
https://tyre-trends.com/materials/bridgestone-unveils-industry-first-tyre-with-70-recycled-materials
https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/features/rcb-black-gold-from-end-of-life-tires.html
https://media.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2025/07/jlr-makes-industry-first-commitment-introduce-tyres-made-renewable-materials-its
https://www.continental.com/en/press/press-releases/20250708-more-sustainable-fillers/
