Bridgestone, NEDO, JSR develop super low-rolling resistance elastomers

ERJ staff report (DS)

Tokyo - By exploiting properties at nano scale - around 100 nm - Bridgestone together with development partners has created a rubber material which delivers lower rolling resistance and better abrasion resistance.

The development is described in a Japanese-language document from NEDO, Japan's largest public R&D management organisation. Bridgestone worked with NEDO and JSR Corp, widely regarded as the leader in solution-SBR technology for the tyre industry.

The development promises to improve rolling resistance by a further 20 percent ahead of today's state-of-the-art, represented by Japan's AAA tyre label.

It also improves wear resistance by around 26 percent.

The material is based around a S-SBR with end-group modification, and with improved rubber-filler interaction.

Bridgestone said the breakthrough was achieved by independent control of the compound at three different scales: 1000 nm; 100nm and 10 nm.

Bridgestone said it will implement the technology as soon as possible.

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Press release from NEDO (Japanese language)

Above story auto-translated (from Japanese language)