Toyo agrees sustainable raw materials research partnership with Serbian university

Toyo Tire corporate officer Kenta Kuribayashi and University of Novi Sad rector Dr Dejan Madic (Photo: Toyo Tires)

Toyo Tire Holdings of Europe has formed an industry-university partnership for the research and development of sustainable raw materials with the University of Novi Sad in Serbia. Toyo Tire corporate officer Kenta Kuribayashi and University of Novi Sad faculty dean Biljana Pajin signed the agreement on 3 November in Serbia’s second-largest city. Toyo Tire produces tyres in Serbia. The Japanese manufacturer said that it intends to promote technology development through this industry-university partnership and wishes to contribute to educational policies in Serbia.

Toyo adds that it will accelerate the development of sustainable raw materials on a global scale as it leverages any research outcomes from such industry-university partnerships.

The research project is titled, ‘Initiatives to Facilitate the Use of Sustainable Raw Materials’. It will comprise two major segments: the development of renewable raw materials utilising plants derived from Serbia; and the development of recycled raw materials derived from waste tyres.

The University of Novi Sad’s Faculty of Technology, which the joint research group is affiliated with, is internationally renowned in the field of rubber technology, among others. Toyo Tire aims to increase the ratio of sustainable raw materials used in its products to 40 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050. It makes perfect sense to start research and development of sustainable raw materials here at this university, one of whose founding faculties is the Faculty of Agriculture, by utilizing its wealth of knowledge and what this region has to offer.

Located in the north of the Republic of Serbia, Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia after the capital Belgrade. Since its foundation, the University of Novi Sad has expanded as the country’s centerpiece institution of higher education to become one of the largest universities in central Europe, with 14 faculties, nearly 50,000 students, and over 5,000 faculty members.