Michelin to stage Challenge Bibendum in Rio

ERJ staff report (TB)

Detroit, Michigan -- Group Michelin will hold its 10th Challenge Bibendum-the tyre maker's conference on sustainability-May 30-June 2 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where participants will gain experience with ethanol and other alternative fuels.

Key themes for 2010 include: A renaissance of road transport after the economic downturn; a roadmap for sustainable road transport; updates on sustainable bio-fuels; an update on electric vehicle programs; and access to mobility in urban areas.

Michelin said the event-postponed a year because of the uncertain economic climate a year ago-will provide participants an opportunity to see how sugar ethanol is helping the largest economy in South America reduce its carbon footprint as along with experiencing the “complete cocktail” of advanced technology solutions developed on various continents.

The program includes both long-haul and urban-utility vehicles in addition to passenger cars as well as tests and rallies, policy and strategy forums, demonstrations and ride and drives, and a technical exhibition center.

In selecting Rio, Michelin noted that half of the world's 6.6 billion inhabitants live in urban areas and that 40 percent live in just two countries, China and India. Over the next two decades, the company said, the world will become more densely populated, more highly urbanized, increasingly Asian and African, and inhabitants will be forced to face the consequences of a world much too dependent on fossil fuels.

Over the next two decades, the number of vehicles around the globe is expected to double to 1.6 billion, Michein said, and if that doubling of vehicles equates to double the use of natural resources and double the greenhouse gas emissions, “then our mobility will be our ruin.”

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)