Hankook Tire signs Eco-SSBR MoU with Kumho Petrochemical

To aid its development of eco-friendly tyres, Hankook Tire & Technology has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with petrochemical company Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (KKPC). The MoU will give the tyre maker better access to Eco Solution-polymerised Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (Eco-SSBR).

The two companies signed the agreement on 22 May at the headquarters of KKPC, which until its spinoff from Kumho Asiana Group in December 2015 was a sister company of Kumho Tire. Sooil Lee, president and chief executive officer of Hankook Tire & Technology attended the signing ceremony together with Jong-Hoon Baek, president and chief executive officer of Kumho Petrochemical.

First in line for Eco-SSBR

Both companies are responding to growing demand for sustainable raw materials and products by cooperatively developing eco-friendly tyres using recycled materials. Hankook Tire will test and evaluate the physical properties and performance characteristics of its tyres and work to create eco-friendly tyres under the agreement using Eco-SSBR – which is produced through the application of KKPC’s Recycled Styrene Monomer (RSM).

Eco-SSBR applies RSM instead of basic, raw material styrene to solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR). KKPC is considering investing in the material with the aim of commercialisation in 2026. The MoU between the two companies means that Hankook Tire will be the first to be supplied with the material “at a fair price” once production has commenced.

Through the agreement, Hankook Tire has secured synthetic rubber certified by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS. This in turn will help accelerate the achievement of one of Hankook Tire’s ESG goals – using 55 per cent sustainable raw materials by 2025 – and, the company adds, help consolidate its position as a “leading industry ESG management practitioner.”

Hankook Tire’s ESG activities

Prior to the agreement, Hankook Tire had already been implementing ESG management activities aimed at improving sustainability throughout the tyre production process. In particular, as a founding member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), Hankook Tire says it is working to improve the living conditions of small-scale natural rubber growers while simultaneously helping them enhance productivity and quality.

In September 2021, Hankook formulated and published a natural rubber policy in line with the GPSNR’s guidelines. As part of this policy, in December 2021 it joined Project TREE, a sustainable natural rubber production project based on blockchain technology.

Hankook obtained the first ISCC PLUS certification in the tyre industry in April 2022, verifying the greenness of its entire production process from the purchasing of raw materials to the selling of products.

Beyond these sustainability-focused activities, Hankook Tire notes that its community engagement and ethical management ESG management efforts have been recognised by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for seven consecutive years.