Nokian Tyres is leading a Finnish programme that will “confront the key challenges of future mobility” through various solutions such as the digitalisation of tyres and traffic, sustainable product lifecycle, and advanced manufacturing technologies. The five-year FutureProof project aims to ensure sustainable European mobility both on and off-road by bringing together actors from different sectors.
Concluding the first 2025 test session for its next generation of rain tyres at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, Pirelli comments that it has acquired reams of data essential to its further development work. The focus of this joint testing with the McLaren F1 Team was the wet and intermediate tyres for the 2026 season, when the regulations will stipulate the same 18-inch rim diameter as the current ones, but with a slightly smaller width and external diameter on both the front and rear axles.
Beginning in September 2024, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. is participating as an official partner in a research project that aims to reduce wastage when harvesting natural rubber by utilising the seeds of Para rubber trees. This “Utilization Technology of Rubber Seeds for Green Products to Mitigate Global Warming and Plastic Pollution” project brings together protagonists from government bodies, industry, and academia in Japan and Thailand, with Japan’s government providing support through its Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) programme.
Eurogrip-branded electric vehicle (EV) tyres are on their way, as Indian tyremaker TVS Srichakra reported that it is developing advanced fuel-efficient tyres made for EVs and primarily targeting the Indian market.
Kumho Tire has developed a digital twin (DT) system which engineers are applying to the tyre development process. According to the company, Kumho’s DT system has been developed by incorporating “big data analytics, artificial intelligence, digital transformation and Computer Aided Technologies (CAE)” into the tyre development process.
Transense Technologies plc has been selected as a key partner in an £11 million electric vehicle (EV) research and development programme, that will be part funded by the UK Government through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC).
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. is partnering with leading experts in Japan on a significant project unrelated to tyres but with substantial societal benefits. Together, they are working on developing a new cancer therapy using a “cancer cell absorption kit” that employs a unique polymer developed by Sumitomo Rubber.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (SRI) has commenced a collaborative research venture with Khon Kaen University, focusing on advancing techniques in rubber tree tissue culture. The Falken tyre brand manufacturer formalised this agreement at a signing ceremony held at the university’s campus in Thailand.
The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company have commenced a second phase of their strategic collaboration. Goodyear says this next step in the two parties’ joint work will not only leverage previous achievements but will also “delve into new technological avenues.”
Nexen Tire has won the Red Dot Design Award in the product category. The prize was awarded to the tyre manufacturer for the N’Fera Sport S tyre.
Pirelli has added a new driving simulator at its Virtual Development Centre (VDC) in Breuberg, Hesse. The latest generation of driving simulators have become an important tool for tyre manufacturers, reducing the number of physical prototype cycles required for the development of new products. Pirelli says the VDC and static driving simulator underline its innovation leadership, combining high-tech simulation, artificial intelligence, and expert engineering. Pirelli identified the VDC, which enables the premium tyre manufacturer to develop and test its products virtually, as a signifier of its commitment to investing in local production in Germany, contextualised by other premium manufacturer’s recent announcements of the planned closure of tyre production facilities in the country. Pirelli’s Breuberg plant employs around 2,500 people, including 250 development engineers.
Nexen Tire lays claim to being the first Korean tyre maker to utilise virtual reality (VR) in the product development process. To strengthen its digital design process capabilities, the tyre maker has developed a VR design simulation system at the Nexen Central Research Institute in Seoul. It says this VR design review system allows users to “appreciate the scale of real tyres in a virtual space.”
A years after opening Pirelli’s Digital Solutions Center in Bari is celebrating its first year of activity increasing its workforce to 80, up from the planned headcount of 50. Currently, Pirelli’s digital centre, which is run as a public-private-academic partnership totals 30 employees, mainly from the Apulia region. So far, Pirelli has invested about 4.5 million of the 9 million euros originally earmarked for the project up to 2024, part of which will be financed by the Apulia region.
Vladimir Barvinok, who was previously general director of Continental Tires Rus, is Ikon Tyres’ new director of product development. He joined Ikon Tyres on 25 September 2023 as head of the company’s new Product Development functional area, which includes product portfolio management, technical regulation and certification, innovation, as well as research and development.
Ceat recently appointed Renji Issac, Senior Vice President R&D and Technology in India. Issac took over from Peter Becker, Senior Vice President R&D and Technology effective 1 May. Becker was globally responsible for quality tyre development and implementation in Europe from July 2017 to 30 April 2023.
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