Apollo Tyres & research partner obtain ENR patent

A patent has been granted in India for a special grade of epoxidised natural rubber (ENR) jointly developed by the research and development team at Apollo Tyres and the Rubber Research Institute of India. The tyre rubber compound was granted patent no. 287630 by the Government of India’s Patent Office on 21 September.

Together with its partner, the research and development team at Apollo Tyres, led by Dr Arup Kr Chandra, developed a grade of ENR that can be used as a substitute for solution-polymerised styrene butadiene rubber (S-SBR) in the production of high performance and winter tyres. Not only does the ENR cost less than imported S-SBR, Apollo Tyres says it also provides a more sustainable solution to its future high-performance tyre manufacture.

Lauding the efforts of Dr Chandra, and the team involved in this innovation, Daniele Lorenzetti, chief technology officer at Apollo Tyres Ltd., said: “As a company, Apollo Tyres has always been proactive in its approach towards technology, sustainability and other environmental issues. This innovation is a result of our commitment to replace synthetic materials with green and more environment friendly naturally occurring materials. I would like to congratulate the entire team involved in this, including the scientists from Rubber Research Institute of India, for this invention.”