Bridgestone has partnered with Carbon Capture and Transformation (CCT) company, LanzaTech NZ, Inc. (LanzaTech) in an attempt to address end-of-life tire waste. Bridgestone says the two companies will co-develop the first dedicated end-of-life tire recycling process leveraging LanzaTech’s proprietary CCT technology, creating a pathway toward tire material circularity and the decarbonization of new tire production.
According to the Tire Industry Project operating under the umbrella of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), more than one billion tires globally reach the end of their useful service life each year. Bridgestone says that LanzaTech will work to address this issue by converting end-of-life tires into new materials, including exploring processes to create sustainable synthetic rubber that does not rely on petrochemicals.
Headquartered in Skokie, Ill., Bridgestone says LanzaTech transforms waste carbon into materials such as sustainable fuels, fabrics, packaging, and other products. LanzaTech says its goal is to challenge and change the way the world uses carbon, enabling a new circular carbon economy where carbon is reused rather than wasted, skies and oceans are kept clean, and pollution becomes a thing of the past.
Bridgestone says it is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality and make tires from 100% renewable materials by 2050. The company is actively researching a range of solutions to support the recycling of materials from end-of-life tires and promote the replacement of non-renewable materials such as oil, silica and virgin carbon black in new tires.
