Reflecting on current and future trends in the tyre industry, Andre Lanning, Global Business Director, Synthetic Rubber, Trinseo Europe GmbH, sees the need for much closer collaborations - not only between tyre companies and suppliers but among suppliers themselves. “If we really want to address the big issues in the industry, reduce rolling resistance, improve fuel efficiency, and get better at recycling and re-using materials and chemicals, we need to have a paradigm shift in how we approach innovation.”

According to Dr. Sandra Hofmann, Director, Technology & Innovation, Synthetic Rubber, Trinseo Deutschland GmbH, speed (response time to market) and sustainability are the main trends that will dominate the global tyre industry compared to other industries.

 “The tyre industry, traditionally, has been conservative on knowledge-sharing and collaborating on innovation. Going forward, collaborations are key to moving forward as the complexity in the segment we are focusing on is very high. Every stakeholder in the tyre industry is driving hard for innovations, and, on the co-suppliers’ side, we are keen on collaborations. And, of course, working together with customers is always part of the development,” said Dr. Hofmann.

In recent times, Trinseo has been focusing on close relationships with other stakeholders for developing new products. Trinseo fosters deep engagement with partners through its centralised synthetic rubber site located in Schkopau, Germany, where technology & innovation, mini-plant, pilot plant, and expanded production assets are located. To reduce product development time from lab sample to commercialisation, Trinseo started a state-of-the-art S-SBR pilot plant in Schkopau, for its synthetic rubber business, which makes it more agile and flexible than ever before in its ability to turn around S-SBR product testing. The company says the S-SBR pilot plant allows for more efficient use of Trinseo’s production facilities and helps speed up innovation in the performance tyres market. As part of its efforts, the company introduces the early development process to its customers. “We have invested substantially in R&D. In 2018, we started the pilot plant where we can make several hundred kilograms of materials, and that is enough for our development partners and customers to build a tyre already in the product development process,” said Dr. Hofmann.

Dr. Hofmann added, “The capabilities we are bringing to the table, in combination with our openness and willingness for collaborations, are major enablers towards shortening of the product development process.”

Major tyre companies are betting high on recycled and bio-mass materials, aiming to eliminate materials derived from fossil fuels, to make tyres in the future. However, the ‘industrialisation’ of recycled and bio-mass materials to obtain synthetic rubber will be a more significant threshold. “It is nice to have targets, but the main challenge is to implement these targets through technology. Making synthetic rubber from recycled and bio-mass materials will be a gradual process, and we see it as an opportunity and want to be a front runner for sustainability”, said Lanning.

Sustainability

Trinseo, according to the executive, is already contributing to tyre companies’ sustainability efforts by supplying solutions that reduce rolling resistance, CO2 emissions and improve fuel efficiency. 

“Sustainability has many dimensions. It could be recycled and bio-based materials. As a company, we are very much active in the recycling of polystyrene back into styrene monomer which can be introduced as recycled feedstock for packaging applications. As for butadiene, for a long time, it has been made of biomass like sugar and others. As a company, we are exploring sources of sustainable feedstocks, not only looking at how we can contribute to our customers’ sustainability efforts, but to the raw materials that go into our own products,” explained Dr Hofmann.

When asked about having a common platform for all stakeholders to develop products, Lanning, said “if tyre manufacturers are serious about sustainability, there needs to be closer and more open collaboration around innovation between tyre and rubber producers. And that is not the case today. Working together we can tackle the challenges, whereas pursuing innovation completely separately will make it harder to reach the sustainability targets”.

Trinseo has an excellent technical community, called Technical Service & Development Group, that works with its customers around the world. This way, the company educates them on its products and their usages. “Irrespective of where we operate, Trinseo focuses on high-end technologies in functionalised S-SBR,” said Lanning. Dr Hofmann added “We are investing heavily in local markets to provide our products and services more efficiently and improve communications between our customers and the company”.

Synthetic rubber is now being used for passenger car tyres, owing to properties that make it suitable for high-end tyres. Trinseo is expanding its portfolio by also focusing on truck and bus tyres (the company’s low Tg polymers like SPRINTAN SLR 3402 are already used in truck and bus tyres as a partial replacement for natural rubber; they improve energy efficiency and performance, predominantly balancing rolling resistance and wear).

“We need to increase the use of synthetic rubber in truck and bus tyres to further impact global sustainability goals. To achieve these goals, we are looking for customers that plan to have SR in tyres for heavy commercial vehicles as well, but we are also using this opportunity to educate the end customers about the advantage of using functionalised S-SBR” said Lanning.

Another challenge for material suppliers is to keep its product development strategies aligned with the fast-changing trends in the automotive industry. Fundamental requirements of low rolling resistance in tyres are not changing in any types of new mobility, believes the company executive. “We also see a shift of focus on wear improvement,” added Dr Hofmann.

Optimising all three aspects of the magic triangle has always been a challenge. The latest functionalised SPRINTAN™ S-SBR grades are proven to reduce lab indicators for rolling resistance by 30 percent compared to nonfunctionalised synthetic rubber grades. This allows for at least three to five percent less fuel consumption in passenger cars. Trinseo’s recently launched SPRINTAN 918S displaying multi-functionalisation technology to reduce rolling resistance and improve wet grip for ultra-high-performance tyres used on premium cars and SUVs.

Kraton Corporation, a leading global producer of speciality polymers and high-value biobased products derived from by-products of pine wood pulping, has received an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS certification for its manufacturing facility in Niort, France.

Kraton can now supply 100 percent ISCC PLUS-certified AMS and AMS Phenolics resins using a mass balance attribution approach thanks to the certification. Kraton's dedication to promoting the biobased and circular economy is further demonstrated by the Niort facility's accreditation. Kraton is committed to lowering carbon emissions and accelerating the shift to a more sustainable future by empowering clients to include more environmentally friendly products into their supply chains.

An independent multi-stakeholder project, the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) is a leading certification method that guarantees accurate mass-balancing bookkeeping and reporting of renewable and recycled materials across the supply chain.

Lana Culbert, Kraton Pine Chemicals VP of Marketing, said, “Our SYLVARES™ and SYLVATRAXX™ brands feature a range of high-performance AMS and AMS Phenolics resins used in speciality adhesives and tyre applications. Our ISCC PLUS journey began in 2021 with the certification of our Sandarne, Sweden facility. Earning this certification for our Niort plant marks a significant milestone, further expanding our portfolio of sustainable solutions.”

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. has said that it has clarified the process of rubber breakdown, a crucial element that affects tyre longevity, through joint research with Professor Gert Heinrich at Dresden University of Technology (Saxony State, Germany).

In a special session called ‘Combining Physics, Chemistry & Engineering of Rubber: A Symposium in Honor of Charles Goodyear Medalist Gert Heinrich’, which was held in honour of the Professor's medal-winning achievement, the findings were presented in an invited talk at the American Chemical Society, Rubber division, ACS 2025 Spring Technical Meeting held in Orlando, Florida, US, on 6 and 7 March. Professor Heinrich is a member of the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, which took part in the collaborative effort.

Tyre durability is determined by cracking processes, which result in the development of cracks and rips in a rubber substance. The endurance of rubber was previously mostly assessed using tearing tests, but there were still numerous unanswered concerns regarding the microscale structural alterations at the crack tip. This effort identified a factor that determines the start and propagation of cracks in rubber by analysing the force applied to a fracture tip using a simulation approach. In rubber, a crack tip undergoes dilatation deformation to create voids, or microvoids within the item. The fracture gets worse as the voids expand and come together. It was also discovered that the tension focused on the fracture tip is lessened when voids emerge.

The German Rubber Industry Association (Wdk) is advocating for a thorough and legally enforceable regulation of the end-of-waste status for Germany and the whole of Europe. The association is pusing for the circular economy to be strengthened for tyres.

Valuable secondary raw materials are still legally regarded as waste since there are no consistent standards for the end-of-waste status, according to Stephan Rau, Technical Director of the WDW. This restricts the market integration of sustainable recycled materials, impedes investments and creates legal uncertainties. “We call for a comprehensive and binding end-of-waste regulation for Germany and the whole of Europe to strengthen the recycling sector, facilitate investment in modern technologies, and sustainably reduce the CO₂ footprint of the rubber and tire industry,” he said.

In order to adhere to the prescribed waste hierarchy and stop illicit exports, Rau also emphasised that lawmakers must quantitatively and openly document waste tyre flows. He added that waste tyres should only be gathered by approved disposal companies and pre-sorted based on their intended use.

On the important role of mechanically recycled tyre granules and powder, Rau said, "This is an important secondary raw material that is already used in a variety of durable and safe products. A clearly defined end to its waste status must be made more economically viable. To ensure the market success of tyre granules, a risk-based approach to assessing chemical ingredients is essential. Binding limit values ​​must be assessed using a migration analysis, i.e. based on their bioavailability. Second, the use of tyre granule products must become mandatory in the construction industry and infrastructure projects. The goal is clear: Recycling must be economically viable."

Kuraray, a global speciality chemicals company and one of the largest suppliers of industrial polymers and synthetic microfibres, has received ISCC PLUS certification for its thermoplastic elastomers SEPTON and HYBRAR as well as Liquid Rubber produced at the Company’s Kashima Plant at Ibaraki Prefecture.

ISCC PLUS makes sure that certified products, such biomass and recycled raw materials, are appropriately handled throughout their supply chains, including the manufacturing process, by applying the mass-balance technique.

In the five years preceding up to its centenary in 2026, Kuraray is carrying out its medium-term management strategy, PASSION 2026. In order to achieve the long-term Kuraray Vision 2026 of being a speciality chemical company that grows sustainably by integrating new foundational platforms into its own technologies and contributing to customers, society and the planet, the company will keep growing its range of products that improve the natural and living environments.