At the 2021 Movin’On global sustainable mobility summit, Michelin introduced two innovations related to sustainability.
The first innovation is an automated, inflatable sail system, WISAMO (Wing Sail Mobility), designed to improve fuel usage in merchant ships and pleasure craft.
The second innovation is a new racing tire containing 46% sustainable materials, fitted to the GreenGT Mission H24 hydrogen-powered prototype developed for endurance racing. This very high percentage was achieved by increasing the tire’s natural rubber content and using recycled carbon black recovered from end-of-life tires. Other bio-sourced or recycled sustainable materials used in the tire include orange and lemon rind, sunflower oil, pine resin and recycled steel from tin cans. The recovered carbon black used in the racing tire is supplied by Scandinavian Enviro Systems. SES also provides the recovered carbon black used in a sustainable motorcycle racing tire for MotoE that Michelin introduced in April.
Michelin has focused on racing tires for its sustainability push to emphasize the fact that the use of sustainable materials need not compromise performance.
As a real-world technological laboratory, motorsports enable Michelin to develop and test new high-tech solutions in extreme usage conditions. With this innovative partnership, Michelin is showcasing its ability to incorporate an ever-higher proportion of sustainable materials into its products without compromising on their performance.
This year, Michelin announced its commitment to using 100% sustainable materials in all its tires by 2050. This commitment will reach an initial milestone in 2030, with a Group-wide target of having 40% sustainable materials in its tires.