Goodyear partnering on upcycled isoprene

A new collaboration between The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and California-based bioengineering firm Visolis will lead to the production of isoprene through the upcycling of biobased materials. This collaboration, which Goodyear announced yesterday, is supported by a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant awarded to Visolis earlier this year.

Isoprene, an important precursor for some types of synthetic rubber, is a hydrocarbon that is typically generated as a by-product from refining crude oil. Isoprene units are polymerised into long chains using a catalyst to produce polyisoprene, which is used as a raw material in manufacturing tyres and other products.

The Visolis and Goodyear collaboration will leverage Visolis’ technology to produce high-quality isoprene from lignocellulosic feedstocks, which are non-edible biomass and agricultural materials. Visolis conducted an initial carbon footprint analysis to explore the reduction potential of its process and will continue to evaluate reductions further as part of its collaboration project with Goodyear.

Shared commitment to sustainable practices

“We are excited to collaborate with Goodyear and leverage our revolutionary technology to transform waste materials into valuable monomers,” says Dr Deepak Dugar, chief executive officer of Visolis. “This partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to sustainable practices and the development of advanced materials that drive positive change.”

“We believe that innovation and collaboration is key to making progress along our sustainability journey and helping us achieve our goals, including net-zero value chain emissions by 2050,” adds Chris Helsel, senior vice president, Global Operations and chief technology officer, Goodyear. “By working with companies like Visolis, we are able to continue to learn, innovate and help build a better future.”

70% sustainable tyre coming

Goodyear says it “actively seeks sustainable material options that deliver product performance while meeting the company’s high standards of quality and safety.” The company’s technology teams are working to advance the use of sustainable materials by investigating new alternative raw materials and solutions. Recent examples of their efforts include the 90 per cent sustainable-material demonstration tyre unveiled earlier this year. Working with its supply base, Goodyear plans to bring a tyre with up to 70 per cent sustainable materials to market this year.