There couldn’t be any industry that isn’t implementing, or at least knowing about, automation. And if there’s actually one, then it has probably been living under a rock. The tyre industry has already opened its doors to automation, and this helps make tyre manufacturing more sophisticated and reliable. The tyre manufacturing process itself has been experiencing constant changes – from different tyre sizes and constructions to targeting less usage of energy. Automation must be on every tyre company’s to-do list, if it hasn’t adopted it already. Don Heelis, Sales Manager, Cimcorp, gave Tyre Trends more insights on the different aspects of automation in the tyre industry and its absolute requirement, when we met him at the Tire Technology Expo 2022 in Hannover, Germany. Read on…

The philosophy of tyre manufacturing has changed dramatically. A part of the change in that philosophy relates to automation implementation in the tyre manufacturing process. However, we also find more technical perspectives being adopted and taken into account at new, modern tyre factories today.

This technical perspective can be considered to be coming from a few different areas, one of them certainly being from the actual production part of the tyre factory. Therefore, with production machinery, mixers, extruders and tyre building machines, the level of technology being implemented in these processes is increasing. Moreover, these processes are getting more sophisticated.

The other aspect of this is integrating the production across all the different areas (another factor for the dramatic change in the modern tyre factory). In the past, the different areas of production were not necessarily well connected. However, today we see them getting connected a lot more – and this is being driven and enabled by technology.

This is where companies like Cimcorp come in – who happen to provide material handling and automation technology so that different tyre manufacturing processes are better integrated.

Explaining this, Don Heelis, Sales Manager, Cimcorp, said, “When you produce your work in process, what you’re producing is in synchronisation with what’s being produced in other areas of the factory. This helps minimise the work in process and have a manufacturing process that’s more efficient.”

Going the modular way
But how does one integrate different machines and processes in the plant with all the different machines and manufacturing processes involved? Heelis let us in on this.

“The trick is to implement the automation and connectivity in a modular way,” he revealed and went on, “That way, the connectivity is physical and mechanical but involves software as well. Thus, we take an approach where the modules are flexible and can connect to various inputs and outputs; however, the module is in itself standardised. Hence, the modules can work for different factories – only the interconnection needs to be flexible.”

The green tyre
While implementing automation, one, of course, would want to implement it where they get the biggest value. “Traditionally, that has been in the palletising area – in managing and handling the finished product. Basically, palletising, storing and retrieving the finished product,” Heelis informed us and continued, “This is where everyone has traditionally looked in the past. However, a lot of focus has been put on the green tyre area in the past 10 years. That includes green tyre handling, storage and retrieval and its automatic delivery to the curing process.”

A green tyre is work in process – simply put, a tyre that has not been cured. “A green tyre is made up of a number of components. It’s built on a tyre-building machine,” Heelis further told us. “Once a green tyre is built, it is buffered, followed by being cured – and automation machines are required in order to do this. Hence, this is a key element of the modern tyre factory.”

He added, “This has been an area of key focus where productivity and simplicity can be gained. In fact, the whole process can be done with less plant floor space. Ultimately, factories that want to be competitive have to implement automation technologies in that area.”

Increased efficiency
There are many brownfield factories out there that have to modernise and be viable for the future. One of the key areas that they need to modernise and automate in is green tyre handling. Heelis asserted, “By having an automated storage and retrieval system, one can track and trace all of the work in process. Plus, one is able to store in a manner that maximises the quality of the green tyres. And then, one can deliver them from the storage system to the curing process in a very systematic and accurate way. This way, when a particular green tyre is needed in the curing area, it can be delivered there in the appropriate amount of time.”

“In this methodology, when the green tyre arrives at curing, it is at that point in time when it is needed, and the production does not have to stop,” Heelis further shared. “If this can be achieved, then the curing process can be run more efficiently; the efficiency can go from 80 percent to over 95 percent. In theory, one can increase the output of their factory by 10 percent. In such a case, one can imagine how many tyres can be produced in a factory by following this methodology.”

Automation – its role during the pandemic and inflation
While automation tends to bring in efficiency, how have companies managed to keep up their competence and productivity during the thorny period of the Covid pandemic? The pandemic has definitely brought some insights to the tyre industry from a management point of view, like it did to many other sectors. According to Heelis, automation has come to the rescue of the tyre industry in the pandemic as well.

“One important thing that the industry learnt from the pandemic was that it has a risk to its ability to produce products,” he mentioned and went on, “The absence of automation will make any company in the industry highly dependent on the labour force, which might not be available to keep the production going. On the other hand, with automated processes, a company is less at risk to events like a pandemic.”

Another issue we are dealing with right now in the global economy is inflation. Inflation equals to costs going up – from the cost of materials to the cost of labour. “Nonetheless, a company can mitigate some of the impacts of inflation if it has embraced automation. In fact, the ones who automated their brownfield factories three to four years ago are in a much better position today than their competitors who had not,” Heelis pointed out and went on, “This is because the former can mitigate some of the inflation costs, is less dependent on the workforce and is able to produce better-quality products – and at a higher level of efficiency at that. We know that there is a tremendous shortage of people in the workforce in the US right now. Therefore, automated companies have a significant competitive advantage.”

From the tyre industry’s challenges due to the pandemic and inflation, we turned to the challenges Cimcorp itself faces on the commercial side. Heelis responded that, commercially, the current challenge for them is being a low-cost, high-quality producer – which one has to be in order to compete in the market. “Furthering this challenge is how we become a low-cost, high-quality producer and stay that way. And from our perspective, the way to get there is through innovation and technology,” he stated.

Automation in the Asian tyre industry
CIMCORP opened up an office in India roughly three years ago. With its presence in the country and Asia, Heelis told us that the tyre companies in Asia are no stranger to automation and are implementing it. “As a move forward, the mentality is that if you want to be a world-class manufacturer and build a new factory, then you build the factory with automation. And this is a global perspective,” Heelis asserted.

Cimcorp’s customers in Asia range from traditional tyre manufacturers to new manufacturing entrants in the industry, so it’s a mix. Throwing further light on this, Heelis said, “We all know the traditional manufacturers like Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental and more. But beyond these, there are new companies emerging. And these new companies have an advantage in some ways because they are not constrained by the old ways of thinking. They are forward thinking, with a clearer mindset to do things in the current environment – the environment of automation and technology.”

“Moreover, the manufacturers who don’t invest in automation, and try to run the company with practices that were developed in the 1960 and 70s, will not be able to survive or compete,” he further added. “Their market will eventually consider them to be non-competitive, non-global and unable to produce the quality expected of them.”

Cimcorp has plans for India as well. “Our strategy is to continue to grow our business in India with the domestic tyre manufacturers, and we have been successful at that,” Heelis shared and went on, “When I say domestic, that goes for manufacturing facilities within India, from Apollo Tyres to MRF to JK Tyre to Goodyear to Michelin. Thus, we plan to continue to build our business with those factories and customers from an automation perspective, and then from a full customer service point of view.”

The other aspect comes to brownfield factories. Heelis averred, “With brownfield factories, whether in North America or Asia, the cost of automation is the same; there may be different payback scenarios between the two. However, it stands true that no matter where a company is present in the world, if it is operating a brownfield factory, then it needs a strategy to modernise. And the strategy to modernise is based on implementing automation.”

Automation in brownfield factories – what will it take?
The strategy to modernise when automating a brownfield factory is especially challenging in an already existing system. Therefore, when automating a brownfield factory, one of the most important considerations is to not interrupt their day-to-day production, Heelis cited. He mentioned that the factory has to continue making its certain number of tyres each day. Hence, a strategy that enables the factory to do that is needed – while concurrently implementing automation there.

“Besides, when you implement automation, you have to be able to do it in a standardised way,” Heelis further enlightened and continued, “This can be done with the help of flexible automation modules that can work in a lot of different scenarios. Therefore, you can deal with different brownfield factories depending just on how you arrange your automation modules. Thus, you can come up with a custom solution for every different brownfield factory out there with the help of a modular approach and on the basis of how you connect those automation modules together.”

Service provided
From providing standard modular systems to hardware to software, Cimcorp strategically has a service aspect to its business – Success Services. Therefore, the approach from its service side is to enable its customers to be as successful as possible.

“That could be achieved by providing a 24/7 support. So if the customers contact us due to an issue they are facing in the solutions provided by us, we are available at any time of the day or night to support them,” Heelis revealed and added, “We can do it remotely. In fact, as technologies emerge further, we’ll see how we can do this more remotely with virtual techniques. Here, their serviceperson could be using special tools, which enables our people (who are remote) to actually be in virtual situations in our customers’ plants. In such wise, we can be more responsive and be as if we are in place in real-time in order to provide a service.”

Tyre warehouse automation or manual operation – making the choice
Nevertheless, Cimcorp does not just stop at its 24/7 services or providing its automation solutions for tyre manufacturing processes. It goes beyond that – to the finished product warehouses. However, interestingly, that depends to a degree on which part of the world the automation is needed in; while some areas will need automation that is well advanced, some areas will use a more manual operation.

Heelis explained, “There are some key factors that determine whether the facility/area in question needs to be automated or not. For example, the cost of real estate. If it’s a manual operation, then that typically involves a very large warehouse, say around 100,000 sq mt.”

“For automating, on the other hand, you require lands that are much smaller,” Heelis further highlighted. “For instance, land is very expensive in Japan. Thus, one wouldn’t want a very big footprint warehouse over there. Which means, you go vertical wherever land is expensive.”

“On the flip side, land is very cheap in some areas and inexpensive to build the generic building (like in some areas of the US). So there is less incentive to go vertical with automation there,” he added. “But there might be other factors that could dominate.”

Choosing automation over manual operation – why?
While some main factors do influence the decision if a warehouse is going to be a fully automated one or a semi-manual one, an automated one is always preferred. For clear reasons.

“The benefit of an automated warehouse is that everything is extremely well controlled,” Heelis informed. “What’s more, you have complete control of your product – you know exactly where it is, how much of it you have and you can get on-demand access.”

“As for a semi-manual warehouse, there are fork trucks, people moving things around and putting them in different storage locations,” Heelis further clarified. “This process is much more manual, involves a lot more interaction and is time consuming. Therefore, you have much less control over the process.”

Automation – a need not to be confused as a luxury
The automotive industry has been one of the earliest industries to adopt automation. So it’s high time that tyres, an integral component of any vehicle, did so too. It’s clear that automation, today, is not a luxury but a need. No company can afford to not have it. No tyre company must be limited to older technologies, and they must invest in automation for the long term. This would not just help tyre manufacturers meet their customers’ demands without any delay, but also help modernise the industry with the world’s rapidly changing technologies.

Epson, a global leader in SCARA robot manufacturing, has unveiled its next-generation industrial robotics portfolio at Automation Expo Mumbai 2026. The newly introduced lineup features the high-end CX-A Series 6-axis robots, the LS-C Series SCARA robots, the RC+ 8.0 programming software and the advanced SafeSense safety technology, all designed to address diverse manufacturing applications such as pick-and-place, precision assembly, parts transfer and material handling.

The new offerings significantly expand Epson’s existing industrial robotics family, which already includes the 6-axis C-Series and SCARA T-Series and LS-Series models with payloads ranging from 3 to 20 kilogrammes. With the addition of the CX-A and LS-C Series, manufacturers across various sectors can achieve heightened productivity, flexibility and operational efficiency. The CX-A Series is engineered for complex tasks with a payload capacity of up to seven kilogrammes and a reach of 900 millimetres, available in IP67, cleanroom and ESD variants, while the LS-C Series provides a compact SCARA platform with a 50-kilogramme payload, a 1,000-millimetre reach and cycle times as fast as 0.298 seconds.

Complementing the hardware, the RC+ 8.0 software offers an integrated environment for programming, simulation and system management, facilitating faster automation deployment with support for Visual Studio and C++ development. Additional efficiency features include enhanced diagnostics, OPC UA, GUI builder and safety functions, alongside co-creation tools like Library Builder and RC+ Extension. Meanwhile, the SafeSense technology promotes safer human-robot collaboration by incorporating Safety Limited Speed and Safety Limited Position functions, which can potentially reduce the need for extensive safety fencing and thereby increase operational flexibility.

With over four decades of industrial robotics expertise and more than 200,000 robotic arms deployed globally, Epson continues to drive operational excellence for businesses. Attendees at Automation Expo Mumbai 2026 have the opportunity to view live demonstrations of these solutions and consult with Epson specialists about transforming their manufacturing operations.

Siva Kumar, Sr General Manager – Sales and Marketing, Epson India, said, "India is rapidly emerging as a global manufacturing hub, and automation will play a pivotal role in shaping its future. With our new industrial robot lineup and RC+ 8.0 platform, Epson is delivering the speed, precision and intelligence manufacturers need to compete in an increasingly dynamic marketplace. We remain committed to enabling businesses to accelerate automation adoption and build smarter, more agile and globally competitive manufacturing operations."

A consortium of Fraunhofer institutes has reached a key milestone in the Technology Platform for Tire Abrasion and the Identification of its Emissions in Road Traffic (TERIS) project, moving closer to establishing standardised laboratory methods for generating, analysing and predicting tyre wear.

The project, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, together with Fraunhofer ICT, Fraunhofer IGD and Fraunhofer IWM, aims to provide the tyre industry, testing organisations and environmental agencies with reliable and practical laboratory procedures for assessing tyre abrasion emissions.

The first project milestone has been completed following a successful review by an advisory board comprising industry experts.

The consortium has developed reference methods for tyre abrasion, particle analysis, tribological modelling, artificial intelligence-based surface analysis, a laboratory test bench concept, accelerated ageing techniques and volatile organic compound (VOC) detection.

According to the consortium, combining different particle collection and measurement techniques enables more precise analysis of both airborne and deposited tyre wear particles. At the same time, tribological models have been developed to better understand the relationship between loading conditions, material properties, surface structures and particle formation, allowing real-world tyre wear processes to be replicated under laboratory conditions.

Researchers have also developed a specialised test chamber for accelerated ageing, enabling tyre samples to be exposed to controlled environmental conditions before evaluating their abrasion behaviour.

Another development is an optical detection system that uses artificial intelligence to identify and classify surface structures. The system has been validated using substitute materials and is expected to be applied to rubber samples during the next phase of the project.

The consortium has also designed a laboratory test bench that combines multiaxial loading, controlled generation of tyre wear particles, targeted particle collection and integrated optical sensors within a single testing platform.

In addition, the project combines accelerated weathering with chemical analysis of volatile organic compounds released from tyre abrasion to assess the environmental impact of tyre wear particles.

The researchers said the work will provide the foundation for faster and more practical laboratory evaluation of new rubber compounds. The resulting methods are intended to help tyre manufacturers reduce emissions, accelerate product development and support compliance with the requirements of the Euro 7 standard.

At Fraunhofer IWM, researchers focused on refining tribological wear models and friction surface concepts to simulate particle formation under controlled laboratory conditions. The institute designed a parameterisable wear test that studies friction between plate materials and model surfaces with different structures, enabling researchers to investigate the mechanisms responsible for particle generation.

Initial findings indicate that tyre wear results from multiple interacting mechanisms rather than a simple relationship between particle emissions and factors such as speed, contact force or temperature. The researchers collected and analysed particles across a wide range of sizes during the study.

ZF has secured a significant milestone in the Indian automotive sector, receiving three major orders for its advanced test systems. The contracts, which encompass battery, tyre and e-axle testing, position the global driveline and chassis technology leader at the forefront of the nation’s drive to enhance road safety and establish more robust vehicle certification processes. This development aligns with India’s accelerating regulatory efforts to ensure that vehicle testing becomes more independent, rigorous and comprehensive, marking a critical step forward for the industry.

A key aspect of ZF's strategy involves a strong commitment to local manufacturing, with the company emphasising high levels of domestic content for its test systems in support of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The firm’s extensive background in the field is underscored by its experience in testing over 100 million transmissions, a testament to the proven global reliability of its technology. This foundation of expertise is now being applied to address the specific safety and performance demands emerging in the Indian market.

With the rapid adoption of electric vehicles, battery safety has become a paramount concern, and ZF’s solutions cover the complete spectrum from individual cells to complete packs. These systems evaluate performance, endurance and environmental factors, including rigorous mechanical abuse testing, while adhering to a wide array of international and Indian standards. Furthermore, the company’s tyre testing capabilities are poised to play a crucial role as India prepares to enforce new mandatory regulations, including the BNVSAP and the AIS 142 TPMS Mandate. The ZF Tyre Efficiency Tester (TET.lab), recognised for its precision, offers a modular platform capable of testing everything from motorcycles to heavy commercial vehicles.

The company’s e-mobility test benches feature a high-performance drive module with a flexible, modular architecture designed to accommodate both conventional and electric drivetrains. These systems can be configured for various operations, integrating frequency converters and precision measurement technology for comprehensive testing. ZF’s deep expertise, already deployed by manufacturers and testing authorities worldwide, positions it as a key technology partner for India. As regulatory requirements tighten and the demand for quality escalates, the company is set to support the nation's ambition of building a safe and sustainable automotive ecosystem.

Akash Passey, President, ZF Group India, said, “Testing agencies are the final arbiters of vehicle safety, the bodies whose certification regulators and the public trust. Being chosen across three independent and Government agencies, for three distinct testing disciplines, is a powerful validation of ZF's accuracy, reliability and deep understanding of India's regulatory and testing landscape. ZF Group is proud to provide the technical foundation that makes world-class automotive safety infrastructure possible in India, not just for our OEM customers but also for Government and independent testing agencies.”

Thomas Trebitsch, Vice President, ZF Test Systems and Testing, said, “Over the past years, we have been focusing on the tyre industry in India and introducing our complete product portfolio to India. As the market develops rapidly towards regulations and safety, there is a strong need for robust and world-class testing technology. ZF brings its global competence and a deep understanding of the Indian auto industry to address its specific needs.”

As India’s industrial sector accelerates its shift towards cleaner energy, tyre manufacturers are emerging as a critical test case for integrating renewable power into continuous, high-load operations. In this conversation, Kuldeep Jain, Founder and Managing Director of CleanMax, outlines how demand from companies such as CEAT and Michelin is reshaping renewable procurement – from conventional solar contracts to hybrid, round-the-clock solutions – while positioning clean energy as both an operational necessity and a strategic lever for decarbonisation.

Industrial decarbonisation in India is entering a more operational phase, where renewable electricity is no longer a peripheral lever but an embedded component of manufacturing strategy. For CleanMax, this shift is most visible in energy-intensive sectors such as tyre manufacturing, where continuous processes, global supply-chain pressures and ESG commitments are converging to reshape how power is procured and consumed.

Kuldeep Jain, Founder and Managing Director of CleanMax, describes a market moving beyond cost arbitrage towards structural integration of clean energy. Demand from tyre manufacturers – long characterised by high, stable electricity loads – is now influencing both project design and procurement models, pushing developers towards hybrid and round-the-clock renewable solutions. 

Energy-intensive industries are increasingly prioritising renewable electricity to manage power costs and reduce operational emissions. Manufacturing sectors with continuous loads are particularly suited to long-term renewable procurement models such as group captive and open-access PPAs, which provide cost stability while supporting decarbonisation goals,” Jain says.

That demand is already translating into project pipelines. CleanMax’s collaboration with CEAT involves developing 59 MW of hybrid wind-solar capacity to supply renewable power to its Halol and Kanchipuram plants. Similarly, its engagement with Michelin includes an open-access solar power purchase agreement supporting operations at the company’s Chennai facility.

“These projects illustrate how large industrial consumers are integrating renewables into their long-term energy strategy. For instance, globally, the International Energy Agency has already noted that industrial electrification and renewable procurement will drive the next phase of the energy transition. Tyres are firmly in that wave,” Jain notes.

FROM INTERMITTENT SUPPLY TO ENGINEERED RELIABILITY

Tyre manufacturing presents a distinctive challenge for renewable integration. Plants operate continuous processes – mixing, curing and vulcanisation – that require stable baseload electricity and thermal energy. Traditional solar PPAs, while cost-effective, are inherently intermittent, limiting their suitability for such operations.

The industry is therefore evolving towards hybrid models that combine multiple renewable sources. “Hybrid projects are gaining traction because they smooth generation across the day, improving plant load factors,” Jain says. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, such hybrid systems are among the fastest-scaling formats for industrial decarbonisation.

“As a result, the industry is moving beyond single-source solar PPAs towards wind-solar hybrid projects and open-access group captive models that provide higher plant load factors and more balanced generation profiles across the day. Wind-solar hybrid is increasingly seen as the most practical and efficient pathway to scale renewable penetration in continuous manufacturing environments,” Jain explains.

This shift reflects a broader reframing of renewables – not as intermittent substitutes for fossil fuel power but as engineered systems tailored to industrial demand curves. The emphasis is on aligning generation profiles with consumption patterns, rather than expecting operations to adapt to variable supply.

SECTOR-SPECIFIC DECARBONISATION PATHWAYS

Not all heavy industries decarbonise along the same trajectory. Jain draws a clear distinction between tyre manufacturing and sectors such as cement or steel, where process emissions form a significant share of the carbon footprint.

“If you step back, industries don’t decarbonise in the same way because they don’t consume energy in the same way. A tyre plant is largely powered by electricity. So if you clean up the electricity, you’ve already addressed a meaningful part of its emissions,” he says.

However, the challenge lies in reliability. “These are continuous operations. They don’t switch off when the sun sets or the wind drops. That’s why hybrid becomes important, as a way of shaping energy to demand,” Jain adds.

“In case of cement or steel, a significant portion of emissions comes from how the product itself is made. So the shift we’re seeing is subtle but important. It’s about redesigning the energy profile itself so that clean energy isn’t intermittent in theory but dependable in practice,” he continues.

The implication is that electrification-driven sectors such as tyre manufacturing can achieve faster decarbonisation gains through renewable procurement, provided supply reliability is addressed through hybridisation and system design.

ESG, PRODUCT STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVE POSITIONING

Renewable energy is also assuming a more strategic role within tyre companies’ ESG frameworks. What began as a cost-management exercise is increasingly tied to product innovation, sustainability reporting and global competitiveness.

“The conversation around renewable energy in the tyre industry has clearly evolved beyond cost optimisation. Many manufacturers are increasingly integrating renewable power into their broader ESG strategies and supply-chain decarbonisation commitments, particularly as global automotive OEMs push for lower-carbon sourcing across the value chain,” Jain says.

This transition is evident at the product level. CEAT’s launch of its SecuraDrive CIRCL tyre – produced with up to 90 percent sustainable materials – signals how manufacturers are aligning product design with sustainability objectives.

“Renewable electricity procurement helps reduce Scope 2 emissions and supports the development of lower-carbon products, which is becoming an important factor in both sustainability reporting and global competitiveness. As a result, renewable energy is now seen not only as a cost-management tool but also as a strategic lever for product decarbonisation and ESG positioning,” Jain explains.

TECHNOLOGY MIX AND OPERATIONAL ALIGNMENT

From a systems perspective, no single technology provides a complete solution. CleanMax advocates a portfolio approach that combines generation assets with digital tools and flexible contracting structures.

“A portfolio approach works best. For manufacturing operations with steady electricity demand, hybrid renewable systems combining solar and wind have proven effective, as the complementary generation profiles improve overall availability and plant load factors,” Jain says.

Digital energy management platforms play a supporting role by optimising dispatch and aligning supply with consumption patterns. Flexible procurement structures, including open-access and group captive models, further enhance adaptability across sites and regulatory regimes.

“In practice, hybrid setups combining solar and wind have proven effective because they smooth generation across the day and improve overall availability. That’s what makes renewable power usable at scale,” Jain adds.

The CEAT and Michelin projects exemplify this approach, integrating multiple procurement pathways – onsite solar, offsite generation and open-access PPAs – to increase renewable penetration without compromising operational stability.

POLICY VARIABILITY AND MULTI-LOCATION STRATEGIES

India’s regulatory landscape remains heterogeneous, with state-level policies shaping the feasibility and economics of renewable procurement. For tyre manufacturers operating across multiple locations, this creates both complexity and opportunity.

“Overall, the ecosystem is steadily evolving to support higher renewable penetration practically. Open-access mechanisms are becoming more aligned with industrial needs. Renewable procurement is naturally becoming more location-specific,” Jain says.

Different state frameworks enable companies to tailor their energy mix – combining onsite solar with offsite wind or solar depending on regional resource availability and regulatory incentives.

“In practice, this leads to more balanced and resilient energy portfolios. This is also where developers with experience across markets can add value by structuring solutions that are aligned to each site’s load profile, regulatory context and long-term cost objectives, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach,” Jain explains.

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS AND RISING EXPECTATIONS

Pressure from global automotive OEMs is accelerating the adoption of renewable energy in India’s tyre sector. As manufacturers integrate more deeply into international supply chains, emissions performance is becoming a criterion for sourcing decisions.

“As tyre manufacturers become more integrated with global OEM supply chains, expectations around emissions are becoming more defined. Renewable electricity is one of the more immediate ways to address this, especially for Scope 2 emissions,” Jain says.

“What we’re seeing is more about alignment – companies are adapting their energy mix to stay relevant in global markets, where sustainability is increasingly part of how sourcing decisions are made,” Jain says.

This dynamic is likely to intensify as OEMs tighten decarbonisation targets and extend accountability across their value chains, reinforcing the role of renewable energy in industrial competitiveness.

THE NEXT FRONTIER: TRACEABILITY AND CARBON MARKETS

As companies move towards net-zero targets, the focus is broadening beyond direct emissions to include value-chain impacts and verification mechanisms.

“Instruments such as renewable energy certificates and carbon markets help companies transparently account for the renewable electricity they procure. At the same time, there is growing focus on Scope 3 reporting as manufacturers work to address emissions across their broader value chains and align with global supply-chain decarbonisation expectations,” Jain says.

Traceability – ensuring that renewable energy claims are verifiable and auditable – is expected to become increasingly important, particularly for export-oriented manufacturers facing stringent disclosure requirements.

A DECADE OUTLOOK: ACHIEVABLE, BUT CONDITIONAL

Looking ahead, Jain is cautiously optimistic about the pace of renewable adoption in India’s tyre manufacturing sector. The fundamentals – declining costs, expanding capacity and supportive policy evolution – are largely in place.

“Over the next decade, higher renewable penetration in tyre manufacturing is well within reach, especially as clean power availability continues to expand. For electricity-led operations, increasing the share of renewable energy is already a practical pathway, not a distant target,” he says.

However, execution will hinge on system-level factors. “What will make the difference is how reliably this power can be integrated at scale – through consistent open-access frameworks, stronger grid alignment, and wider use of hybrid solutions that better match continuous industrial demand,” Jain says.

The trajectory is clear: renewable energy in tyre manufacturing is transitioning from opportunistic adoption to structural integration. For developers such as CleanMax, the challenge – and opportunity – lies in engineering solutions that convert intermittent resources into dependable industrial infrastructure.