Automation major Siemens joins Zeppelin 'sustainable tire alliance'

Friedrichshafen, Germany – Industrial plants engineering company Zeppelin Systems has expanded its 'sustainable tire alliance' with the addition of Siemens AG as an automation and digitalisation partner.

Launched in March, the German machinery and system maker's alliance now has nine partners aiming to advance circular economy of tires, said Zeppelin's 30 Aug statement.

As a new member of the technology network, automation major Siemens will work alongside Zeppelin in the areas of tire recycling and sustainable tire production.

“Tackling this requires a partnership-based network of different companies to facilitate a holistic view of all aspects of typical tire production processes, including the entire supply-chain,” said Peter Haan, head of vertical management Tire at Siemens AG.

As part of the task, Siemens will also be specifically making 'digital twins' available for use, with a view to developing and improving sustainable tire production.

The 'digital twins' will make it possible to simulate seamless information flows between the real and digital worlds, according to the Zeppelin release.

In addition, it said, the software tools will enable partners to “model holistic sustainability effects along the value chain,” and optimise process cycles.

Furthermore, Siemens will drive forward sustainable tire production processes, focused on areas such as decarbonisation as well as energy and resource efficiency.

“Transparent and manageable” carbon-footprint analysis will be facilitated via Siemens' SiGreen software-as-a-service application for sharing dynamic data along value-chains.

The two companies have previously worked together, with Zeppelin’s subsidiary in India employing Siemens technology in its tire equipment systems.

“For Zeppelin Systems, further fulfilment partnerships in future are not only conceivable but desirable,” said the German plant engineering group.

Siemens joining the alliance is “the next logical step in shaping tire production and tire recycling in a consistently holistic and technologically innovative way,” said Guido Veit, Zeppelin's VP sales of polyolefins, rubber, and silos.

“A large technology company is now side-by-side with Zeppelin Systems in also striving to establish pioneering processes and solutions for the production and recycling of tires,” added Dr. Markus Voege, CEO of Zeppelin Systems.

The Zeppelin-led alliance also includes: French AI-based sorting systems supplier Regom; water-jet tire recycling company RubberJet & Vertech; and Polish partner Recykl, a developer of technology to produce functional additives derived from the fibre-content of scrap tires.

Also on board are: German rubber devulcaniser Entex; Poland-based waste tire pyrolysis company ReOil; recovered carbon black refiner NanoTechnologies; and Evonik, which provides technology to help deliver high-quality recycled rubber moulded products.