Evonik to up investment in "green tires"

Wesseling, Germany – Evonik Industries is to invest an unspecified amount – in single-digit million euros – in research in order to improve fillers for modern high-performance tires.

At its Wesseling site, an additional pilot-scale line for precipitated silica is coming on stream to allow for working with innovative precipitation media, said a 26 March company announcement.

In Rheinfelden, where Evonik is building a new research centre for silanes, an additional NMR device will be purchased to allow analysis of complex molecules.

According to the company, the investment is to address "sustainable mobility” issues and to produce ‘green tires’, the market for which has grown 30 percent since 2010.

To that end, a new production facility for precipitated silica is to become operational in Brazil in 2016.

Evonik is working to develop improved reinforcing filler systems, using a combination of chemical and process technologies. The aim, it said, is to increase the wet traction of tires, reduce rolling resistance and improve grip in snow and slush conditions.

The company is also to bring a VOC-free silane, called XP Si 466 GR, on the market in the near future.

“When conventional silanes react with silica, they release volatile ethanol, which must be treated safely and in an environmentally friendly way during the tire production. In contrast, the new Evonik product… is completely VOC-free,” said Evonik, adding that the finished tires do not emit ethanol at a later stage.

The company also said it had plans to develop special silica/silane systems for heavy-duty truck and bus tires to meet the increased requirements for lower rolling resistance and improved safety in wet and cold conditions.