Using a range of sustainable materials in the tyre tread compound, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has developed the Eagle GO concept tyre, which will be fitted to Citroën’s new concept car, oli.
For more than 120 years, Goodyear has pursued sustainable, low-maintenance innovations and inventions and partnering with Citroën continues a long-standing relationship between both brands. The Eagle GO is the third Goodyear concept tyre developed with Citroën and has been created to optimise efficiency, durability and comfort.
Sustainable-material tread compound
This concept tyre uses a compound in the tread, the part of the tyre that wears, made of nearly all sustainable or recycled materials. These materials include sunflower oils, pine tree resins, natural rubber and rice husk ash silica. These materials are described below.
>Sunflower oils and pine tree resins are renewable solutions to replace petroleum-derived oils. These materials are currently being used to make ‘Vegetable Ink’ for printers. Goodyear’s goal is to fully replace petroleum-derived oils in its products by 2040.
>Natural rubber from the Hevea brasiliensis tree is used to replace synthetic petroleum-based rubber, using responsible farming and cultivation methods*1.
>Rice husk ash silica from rice processing can reduce waste going to landfills and has previously been used in reinforced concrete.
Renewable tread
The Eagle GO concept tyre has the potential to be renewed twice across its lifetime, which increases the lifespan of the tyre. Goodyear has set an objective for the Eagle GO concept tyre to achieve up to 500,000km through the reuse of the sustainable carcass and renewable tread.
Intelligent technology
The Eagle GO concept tyre uses Goodyear SightLine technology, which includes a sensor that monitors a variety of tyre health parameters. This technology is already being applied to help Goodyear fleet customers and could significantly reduce waste and increase efficiency by maintaining ideal pressure and tyre condition. Monitoring the health of the tyre is an important factor in determining whether or when a tyre’s tread can be renewed, thus increasing circularity and efficiency. Adding this technology to the Eagle GO concept tyre is in line with Goodyear’s goal to reinvent tyres and service, delivering data-and-sensor-enabled intelligence in all new products by 2027.
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*1 In line with Goodyear’s Natural Rubber Procurement Policy