Rubber is a vital commodity for global mobility. Vehicles such as cars, trucks, bicycles and e-bikes all rely on rubber tires to keep them moving, as do motorbikes, forklift trucks and port cranes. The components that make up a tire consist of various types of rubber spanning a range of applications. Continental mainly uses two categories of rubber, each offering specific technological benefits for specific tire components: natural rubber and synthetically produced rubber. Natural rubber – the type traditionally used in tire production – is used, for example, in the treads of car and truck tires, where the rubber needs to be extremely hard-wearing. Its special properties include its impact resistance and durability, thanks to the strain-induced crystallization inherent in naturally grown rubber. This unique feature of natural rubber cannot yet be reproduced artificially.
Synthetic rubber, meanwhile, is incorporated into the tread of car tires in addition to natural rubber because of its superior braking performance and rolling resistance. The tire manufacturer is increasingly using synthetic rubber derived from more sustainable sources, such as for example pyrolysis oil made from end-of-life tires or used cooking oil. It sources the raw materials for this more sustainable synthetic rubber from suppliers such as Synthos and TotalEnergies Cray Valley, both of which are using a mass balance approach valorizing sustainable sources certified by the ISCC PLUS International Sustainability and Carbon Certification. The production processes and raw materials used to manufacture the synthetic rubber supplied comply with this system.