Siemens joins Zeppelin Sustainable Tire Alliance

Plant engineer and equipment manufacturer Zeppelin Systems launched the Zeppelin Sustainable Tire Alliance in March 2023 to pursue a goal of increasing sustainability within the tyre industry by rethinking production and recycling within the context of a circular economy. The Alliance brings together firms from around the world in order to put this vision into practice at various points in the tyre value chain. The latest to join is Siemens AG.

Each partner contributes its individual expertise along the tyre production value and process chain. As an integrated solutions provider for the tyre industry, Zeppelin Systems combines technological, technical and innovative competencies with plant engineering solutions. In addition to AI-supported sorting systems from French company Regom, Zeppelin Systems also offers, for example, the breakdown of old tyres by means of high-pressure water jet technology provided by RubberJet and its technical partner Vertech. Polish partner Recykl has developed a solution for producing a functional additive derived from the fibre content of old tyres. German company Entex devulcanises rubber using a planetary roller extruder, while Poland’s ReOil uses continuous pyrolysis to break down end-of-life tyres into materials such as steel, oil and recovered Carbon Black (rCB). Nano Technologies refines raw recovered carbon black.

Introducing Siemens

As a new member of the technology network, Siemens AG takes its place alongside Zeppelin Systems in the area of tyre recycling and sustainable production, focusing on sustainable tyre production processes such as decarbonisation paired with energy and resource efficiency. “Tackling this requires a partnership-based network of different companies to facilitate a holistic view of all aspects of typical tyre production processes, including the entire supply chain,” says Peter Haan, head of Vertical Management Tire at Siemens AG.

As part of the Zeppelin Sustainable Tire Alliance, Siemens is developing and providing digital twins to facilitate sustainable tyre production. These digital twins enable the simulation of seamless information flows between the real and digital worlds and the modelling of both holistic sustainability effects along the value chain and the optimisation of process cycles. Its remit as Alliance partner will also see Siemens drive decarbonisation through product carbon footprints (PCF) using SiGreen, a SaaS application for sharing dynamic PCF along the Siemens value chain.

Future partnerships desirable

Zeppelin Systems and Siemens have previously worked closely together, with the former’s subsidiary in India serving as a fulfilment partner to the latter; Siemens hardware is used in tyre systems built there and the technology for the hardware is supplied by Zeppelin Systems. Zeppelin Systems comments that further fulfilment partnerships in future are “not only conceivable but desirable.”

“We are delighted that Siemens has joined the Zeppelin Sustainable Tire Alliance and welcome even closer collaboration with Siemens in the tyre sector,” says Guido Veit, vice president for sales in Zeppelin Systems’ Polyolefins, Rubber, and Silos business. “For us, this is the next logical step in shaping tyre production and tyre recycling in a consistently holistic and technologically innovative way.”

Dr Markus Vöge, chief executive officer of Zeppelin Systems GmbH, adds: “With the inclusion of Siemens in the Zeppelin Sustainable Tire Alliance, a large technology company is now side-by-side with Zeppelin Systems in also striving to establish pioneering processes and solutions for the production and recycling of tyres. This makes us proud, and confident that we are on the right track with the alliance and our vision.”