Pirelli Foundation to Study Eco-Tyres With Shandong University

The Silvio Tronchetti Provera Foundation and the University of Shandong in Jinan (China) have signed a research agreement that will see the two parties cooperate on research into “the new generation of ecological tyres.” University researchers will work together with Pirelli Group’s R&D department in China with a view to producing advanced low rolling resistance tyres. Pirelli Group has been involved low rolling resistance research for some culminating in the production of “eco-compatible” products such as the new “Cinturato”, presented in Europe at the beginning of 2008.

The Italian-Chinese agreement also includes two joint research initiatives, which aim respectively at realizing more consistent compound mixtures and the study of low-temperature tyre vulcanization.

Faculty scholars, students, graduates, and post-graduate students of the Chinese university will take part in the initiative, under the supervision of Professor Zhao Guoqun, dean of the College of Material Science and Technology at the University of Shandong. Maurizio Boiocchi, head of R&D at Pirelli Tyre, and Alexander Bregantim, head of R&D of Pirelli Tyre in China with oversee the project alongside Professor Zhao. The research activity, which will have a one-year duration, will be carried out in the laboratories of the university with the support of the Pirelli industrial structures in Shandong.

The Silvio Tronchetti Provera Foundation was created in 2001 for the promotion of research in the sectors of economics, science and technology, and in other areas of interest for industrial development, focusing mainly on promoting training of young talent in these fields. With this agreement, the Foundation continues its policy of development and collaboration with international universities, following those set up with the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Craiova. Among the companies which are partners of the Foundation, in addition to Pirelli, are Cisco and STMicroelectronics.

The University of Shandong in Jinan, founded in 1901, is one of the most prestigious Chinese universities in the fields of mathematics and materials science, with more than 40,000 students in its academic and post-graduate courses.