Apollo Tyres Ltd. and the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRI) have announced a new patented rubber compound for tires. The new compound, developed by the research and development team at Apollo Tyres and RRI, is a special grade of Epoxide Natural Rubber (ENR), which will replace expensive Solution-polymerised Styrene Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR). S-SBR is widely used for high performance car tires, including winter tires.

The new ENR compound will provide a sustainable solution to the company’s future high performance tyres. Currently, Indian tire manufacturers rely on imported S-SBR for high-performance tires, which is expensive and not environmentally friendly. The increased focus on R&D and the need to develop environmentally friendly raw materials led to Apollo Tyre to collaborate with Rubber Research Institute of India.

Lauding the efforts of Dr. Arup Kr Chandra, leader of Apollo Tyre’s ENR R&D team, Daniele Lorenzetti, chief technology officer for Apollo Tyres, said, “As a company, Apollo Tyres has always been proactive in its approach towards technology, sustainability and other environmental issues. This innovation is a result of our commitment to replace synthetic materials with green and more environment friendly naturally occurring materials. I would like to congratulate the entire team involved in this, including the scientists from Rubber Research Institute of India, for this invention.”