Pirelli to launch 'lignin' car tires ‘this year’

Milan, Italy – Pirelli now expects to introduce passenger car tires incorporating wood-derived fillers later this year, the company informed ERJ in a written update.

At last year’s DKT IRC conference, held 27-30 June in Nuremberg, Germany, Pirelli officials indicated that the company would introduce innovative lignin-filled car tires by the end of 2022.

In a reply to ERJ’s enquiry on 21 April, the company insisted that the project “is not delayed. The development process is over this period and the launch in the market is scheduled for this year.”

Pirelli has used lignin-derived fillers in its bicycle tires – particularly in its SmartGrip compound – since 2017, the Milan-based company also pointed out.

“About the use of lignin-derived fillers in our car tires, we will communicate further details in the upcoming months,” the Italian tire maker's statement concluded.

As a bio-based material, lignin – a by-product of the paper pulping process in the paper industry – offers a sustainable alternative to carbon black as a reinforcing filler in tires and rubber products.

As explained by its R&D experts at DKT IRC, Pirelli has developed novel chemical treatment and co-precipitation techniques that overcome the challenges of mixing lignin-derived fillers into rubber compounds.