INNOVATION LAB: The future of tyre production is circular

The tyre industry is heading toward a fundamental transformation. The Green Deal is accelerating the transformation toward circular production models and responsible handling of resources. With the Green Deal, the European Commission is increasingly orienting industrial production to the concept of a circular economy, in which resources circulate in closed biological and technical cycles.

At the INNOVATION LAB, THE TIRE COLOGNE 2026, in collaboration with its partner Haute Innovation, demonstrated how circular materials and smart production processes enable sustainable tyre manufacturing. With the addition of the Material & Production segment, this approach was expanded to include material development and production processes, thereby covering the entire circular economy of the tyre industry.

The INNOVATION LAB focused on:

• Material innovations for circular rubber compounds
• Zero-waste approaches in production
• Additive manufacturing (3D printing)
• Recycling and recovery processes such as pyrolysis

The tyre manufacturers are increasingly trusting in new formulas for their rubber mixtures, with which fossil oil-based resources are reduced and organic-based raw materials like silicates from the ash of rice husks or secondary substances from the paper and wood industry are used.

AI, robotics and automation increase efficiency and conserve resources along the production chain. AI-based inspection systems and sensors support the maintenance and performance of tyres. Smart memory materials allow new possibilities, for example, for adaptive rim designs that reduce air resistance while driving and at the same time enable cooling of the brakes as needed.

The INNOVATION LAB brought these developments to life – with live demonstrations and best practices from industry, supply chain, and machinery and software development. Visitors were able to witness, among other things, the 3D printing of a wheel rim and an elastomeric tyre in a single production step. In addition, a start-up presented a world first in the field of materials technology, which both enables the chemical recycling of vulcanised rubber and supports its natural biodegradability.

There was also an exhibition featuring exhibits on the following topics:

• Performance, Material Innovation & Circularity
• Biomaterials and natural raw materials
• Smart & digital Solutions, AI