Bridgestone & LanzaTech partner on ELT solutions

Bridgestone Americas has commenced an exclusive partnership with carbon capture and transformation (CCT) specialist LanzaTech NZ, Inc. to address end-of-life tyre waste. The two companies will co-develop the first dedicated end-of-life tyre recycling process leveraging LanzaTech’s proprietary CCT technology.

Figures from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Tire Industry Project indicate that more than a billion tyres reach the end of their useful service life globally each year. Bridgestone and LanzaTech will work to address this issue by converting end-of-life tyres into new materials, including exploring processes to create sustainable synthetic rubber that does not rely on petrochemicals.

Determining planetary health

“We are excited to join forces with LanzaTech to co-create a more sustainable pathway for end-of-life tyres,” says Paolo Ferrari, president and chief executive officer of Bridgestone Americas. “The steps we take today are determining the health of our planet for future generations. We are determined to meet the moment with sustainable innovation that transforms the way tyres are made and promotes end-to-end material circularity.”

“LanzaTech and Bridgestone are working together to find solutions to some of our world’s greatest challenges,” adds Dr Jennifer Holmgren, chief executive officer of LanzaTech. “We have already proven that we can convert unrecyclable, unsorted municipal solid waste to ethanol and then make products we use in our daily lives. With our partnership with Bridgestone, we are developing a circular pathway to use tyres to make tyres. This partnership exemplifies what we call a Post Pollution Future.”

True ELT circularity

Bridgestone and LanzaTech seek to develop a new business model that will create a post-consumer waste management strategy for end-of-life tyres, while also driving increased adoption of sustainably sourced chemicals for commercial applications. Applying LanzaTech’s carbon capture and gas fermentation process to end-of-life tyres yields sustainably produced chemicals such as ethanol that can be converted to materials such as PET for packaging, polyester yarn and surfactants used in consumer home goods like laundry detergent. In addition, Bridgestone and LanzaTech will jointly explore opportunities to co-develop proprietary microbe technology to produce more efficient pathways to produce butadiene, a key ingredient in new tyre production; Bridgestone comments that doing so will realise “true circularity for end-of-life tyres.”

LanzaTech transforms waste carbon into materials such as sustainable fuels, fabrics, packaging, and other products. Using a variety of waste feedstocks, LanzaTech’s technology platform highlights a future where consumers are not dependent on virgin fossil feedstocks for everything in their daily lives. LanzaTech’s goal is to challenge and change the way the world uses carbon, enabling a new circular carbon economy where carbon is reused rather than wasted, skies and oceans are kept clean, and pollution becomes a thing of the past.

Bridgestone is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality and make tyres from 100 per cent renewable materials by 2050. The company is actively researching a range of solutions to support the recycling of materials from end-of-life tyres and promote the replacement of non-renewable materials such as oil, silica and virgin carbon black in new tyres.

“Our partnership with LanzaTech is a clear commitment by Bridgestone to advancing sustainable tyre technologies and solutions that preserve the environment for future generations and contribute to the realisation of a carbon neutral mobility society,” says Nizar Trigui, chief technology officer and group president of Bridgestone Americas’ Solutions Businesses.

Aligned with E8 Commitment

Bridgestone’s partnership with LanzaTech aligns with the Bridgestone E8 Commitment that serves as the axis to drive management while earning the trust of future generations. The Bridgestone E8 Commitment consists of 8 “Bridgestone-like values” that begin with the letter ‘E’ (Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease, and Empowerment) that Bridgestone will commit to creating together with employees, society, partners and customers to realise a sustainable society.