Goodyear Potential Making Tires from Soybean Oil

[darrell]

Your Goodyear tires could be made from soybean oil
Goodyear increased its use of soybean oil in 2020 by 73% over 2018 and will phase out petroleum-derived oils by 2040.

Mar 29, 2021
Goodyear Assurance Weather Ready In Soybean Field
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has committed to source sustainably produced U.S. soybean oil for its tires, phasing out petroleum-derived oils from its products by 2040.

“We are pleased to partner with Goodyear for their award-winning innovation with U.S. soy in tires and are ready to meet their current and future needs for the sustainable procurement of soybeans,” said United Soybean Board farmer-leader Ed Lammers, who serves as the Oil Target Area coordinator.

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 62,000 people and manufactures its products in 46 facilities in 21 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services.

Goodyear's research led to the discovery that soybean oil could not only improve tire flexibility across temperatures but also provide enhanced grip on road surfaces, making it an ideal choice for Goodyear’s all-weather tire line. Goodyear commercialized this innovation in its Assurance WeatherReady consumer tire line in 2017, the Eagle Enforcer All Weather tire in 2018 and the Eagle Exhilarate in 2019, and announced the Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive in 2020.

Goodyear increased its use of soybean oil in 2020 by 73% over 2018, making progress toward its long-term goal of full petroleum replacement. The new procurement policy features a variety of components, including provisions across the supply chain for responsible land use, growing, harvesting and processing.

“Goodyear’s use of soybean oil is growing, and we want our actions to make a difference in the lives of soybean farmers and others in the supply chain,” said Maureen Thune, vice president and chief procurement officer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. “Our new policy will help guide us as we work with processors, farmers and others to strengthen the sustainability of the global supply chain.”

Goodyear’s new soybean oil procurement policy is effective immediately and applies to all soybean-based materials sourced by its operations worldwide.

Source: United Soybean Board, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

[Grumpy Goat]

Very interesting and great news. Thanks for sharing this Darrell.

[Ray]

Your Goodyear tires could be made from soybean oil
Goodyear increased its use of soybean oil in 2020 by 73% over 2018 and will phase out petroleum-derived oils by 2040.

Mar 29, 2021
Goodyear Assurance Weather Ready In Soybean Field
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has committed to source sustainably produced U.S. soybean oil for its tires, phasing out petroleum-derived oils from its products by 2040.

Thoughts:

Sounds slippery....

United Soybean Board - Saint Louis-based.

Maybe this will take the pressure off corn acreage for ethanol....

2040 seems a long way off.

[Olgry1]

Good to see this kind of innovation.

[runnerhiker]

It sounds like PR to me.

[darrell]

It sounds like PR to me.

I was emailing with Dunlop including about this Goodyear use of soybean oil and below is the response I got from one of the Managers.

“I remember when they first started talking about this when we were still part of Goodyear. I like the innovation.”

Product Manager
Dunlop Motorcycle Tires

[runnerhiker]

It sounds like PR to me.

I was emailing with Dunlop including about this Goodyear use of soybean oil and below is the response I got from one of the Managers.

“I remember when they first started talking about this when we were still part of Goodyear. I like the innovation.”

Product Manager
Dunlop Motorcycle Tires

OK. My first impression was that many companies are trying to project an image of the future that is green, non fossil, renewable, sustainable, etc., usually with a projected timeline that is not realistic. But they have to do it or risk being labeled bad. Time will tell.

[darrell]

Still work happening on this.
1/5/2021 article in Apple News
——————

Goodyear's new tires are made of 70% sustainable materials
The company's goal is to produce tires from 100 percent sustainable materials by 2030.
Goodyear has created a new tire composed of 70 percent sustainable-material content, putting it well on its planned roadmap to make 100 percent sustainable tires by 2030. The tires, which are limited to demonstration models for now, are comprised of 13 sustainable ingredients, including recycled polyester, plant-based carbon blacks, and soybean oil.
“We set an ambitious goal in 2020 to create a tire made 100 percent from sustainable materials in 10 years, and our scientists and engineers have made great progress toward that goal,” global CTO Chris Helsel said in a press release.
Goodyear’s 2030 goal is ambitious by industry standards. Every major tire producer is working hard to make more sustainable tires, but Goodyear is working overtime. Bridgestone, by comparison, is thinking it’ll accomplish 100 percent sustainable-material tires by 2050.
If we want to truly minimize our vehicles’ impact on the planet, we’ll need to go much further than just switching from gas to electricity. We’ll need to overhaul every part of the car-making process.
Airless expansion, too — Finding sustainable tire materials isn’t the only way in which Goodyear is hoping to fight climate change. The company has also been working on non-pneumatic (airless) tires that use a collection of spokes to keep the wheel firm enough to drive on. They never go flat — because there’s no air in them at all — and need to be replaced much less frequently.
Goodyear’s airless tires are still very much in prototype mode, but the company today announced it’s expanding its testing to include its Starship delivery robots. These robots are used for delivering food and packages across the U.S. and in parts of the U.K. Early testing of Starship airless tires has been promising, Goodyear says.
Not just the gas — Electric vehicles are very much on the up-and-up. Legacy automakers and newbie brands alike are pouring billions into producing consumer EVs.
This is remarkable progress, especially when you consider how very quickly the auto industry has ramped up production. And gas consumption is by far the most pressing issue when it comes to fighting climate change.
We can’t stop there, though. Production and upkeep of EVs is still energy-intensive. Tires are a huge source of pollution — and owning any sort of car means replacing them every few years. Developing more sustainable tires will be pivotal to minimizing the impact of our electric vehicles

[Grumpy Goat]

This is good to know and I fully support the effort. I appreciate that they are looking into it and that at least presents the opportunity to find a solution.

It would be interesting to know what the shelf life of these new technology tires would be (I expect shorter than current tires) and what the performance characteristics are, compared with current tires. Unless there is the political will to mandate use of such tires, their success would directly depend on the degree of equivalence with current tires, as well as the cost. Who said engineering was not fun ...

[darrell]

This is good to know and I fully support the effort. I appreciate that they are looking into it and that at least presents the opportunity to find a solution.

I too am excited to see the work being put in to these efforts to improve our planet. I’m sure 5 years ago a member of this forum would not have made a statement he would never likely own another ICE 4 wheeled vehicle. I believe in my lifetime I’ll own and ride a 2 wheeled EV that can take me 500 miles without worrying about needing a charge and maybe even on tires not needing to have the air pressure checked.

[Grumpy Goat]

I too am excited to see the work being put in to these efforts to improve our planet. I’m sure 5 years ago a member of this forum would not have made a statement he would never likely own another ICE 4 wheeled vehicle. I believe in my lifetime I’ll own and ride a 2 wheeled EV that can take me 500 miles without worrying about needing a charge and maybe even on tires not needing to have the air pressure checked.

Same here. It would only have to reliably do 500 miles (with a little reserve), since that distance is all I am typically interested in doing in a day's ride. Riding a quite machine can also become addictive (e.g. my Tracer 900 GT) and is part of the comfort factor.

As for air filled tires ... they are great for on-road / serious off-road multi mission usage but if riding all the time on road then having to bother with air is foolishness and a huge waste of my time, not to mention the potential for a puncture which adds more drama to travel.

[Lee]

Michelin thinks they will be ready with their airless tire in 2024.
https://youtu.be/Ql0Mkr3dwNU
John Deere has been using airless tires on mowers for a few years.
https://youtu.be/CN4AjfoiZPQ

[MrVvrroomm]

I think a solid 200 mile highway range for EV motorcycle would suffice, for me. Thirty minutes to charge via DC charger would work just fine.

If I need to be some place in a hurry, I'll just fly.

[Duccrazydave]

I can only hope Goodyear's 70% sustainable offerings are better than the "normal" tires they sell now.

[BobAin'tStoppin']

I wonder what a soy bean tire would smell like

[Grumpy Goat]

I wonder what a soy bean tire would smell like

Bob you would wonder that ...

"Burning rubber" would have to take on a new meaning and might smell like burned tofu ...

[darrell]

I wonder what a soy bean tire would smell like

if you have some in the bin before the bushels are made in to tires, at $13.37/bu they smell like money.

[Grumpy Goat]

if you have some in the bin before the bushels are made in to tires, at $13.37/bu they smell like money.

Very good point. Wish I could smell that ...

[Ray]

I wonder what a soy bean tire would smell like

if you have some in the bin before the bushels are made in to tires, at $13.37/bu they smell like money.

Get 'em while they're hot....

   

[maxredline]

Dang! I could see the rodents around here having a feast!


You should have seen what they did to my Civics soya based wiring harness...