New Goodyear Tire Made From Soybean Oil, Rice Husks And Pine Resin

Ninety percent of the tire's ingredients are sustainable and it has passed regulatory testing for road use.

While most experts agree that EVs are more environmentally friendly than internal combustion vehicles, the quest for green transportation goes beyond what's under the hood. For Goodyear, it starts where the rubber meets the road. Tires are an essential component of any vehicle, but let's face it, they contain materials and are made with processes that are relatively toxic to the environment. Considering at least two tires for every road-going vehicle today, making those round rubber things more sustainable could go a long way in cleaning up this blue marble we're all living on.

Goodyear's contribution might be promisingly close to reality. At CES 2023, the company revealed a tire in which 90 percent of its components are materials that come from sustainable sources. Goodyear says 17 sustainable ingredients include recycled polyester and plant-based components like soybean oil, rice husk waste, and "bio-renewable" pine tree resin. It also uses steel with "high recycled content" and "ISCC-certified mass balance polymers from bio- and bio-circular feedstock."

It all sounds pretty impressive, but you may think this is just a blue-sky concept and will only go a little further. However, Goodyear is taking this somewhat seriously. The demonstration tire it brought to CES has been put through—and passed—regulatory testing and Goodyear's internal testing.

That doesn't mean it will be on the road tomorrow, as Goodyear admits it still needs to work with its suppliers to figure out a way to scale up to mass production. The company also has another tire made from 70 percent sustainable materials in the works and has already launched a website for customers interested in purchasing it. Goodyear wants to develop a 100-percent sustainable tire by the decade's end. Considering that, we may see the 70 percent tire (or this 90 percent) on the road sooner than we think.

In the meantime, if you already own an EV like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, you should check out Motor Trend's EV Tires Learning Center to help you figure out the best way to go when buying rubber for your vehicle. Of course, sustainable tires will be available more broadly, not just for EVs.

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