Goodyear shows tire made of 90% sustainable materials
Goodyear has demonstrated a tire consisting almost entirely of what it claims are “sustainable materials,” with a mission to further increase that percentage to 100% by the end of the decade.
The new tire also has lower rolling resistance compared to a “reference tire.” Lower rolling resistance means less friction with the road, which makes a car more energy-efficient.
At last year’s CES show, Goodyear showed off a 70% sustainable tire, which included 13 “featured ingredients” across nine tire components. It wants to work with suppliers to bring that tire to market and start selling it to drivers in 2023. If you want to know when you can buy this 70% sustainable tire, you can sign up for updates on Goodyear’s website.
At this year’s CES, they’ve upped their game and are now demonstrating a 90% sustainable tire, with 17 ingredients across 12 components. The new tire has passed Goodyear’s internal testing and all applicable regulatory testing.
The ingredients include recycled materials and relatively novel uses of natural compounds.
Goodyear’s new tire uses plant-based oil and end-of-life tires for carbon, soybean oil to keep the rubber pliable in changing temperatures, silica from rice husk waste to improve grip and reduce fuel consumption, recycled polyester and steel cords for reinforced structure, and renewable pine tree resin for traction.
Goodyear defines a sustainable material as “a bio-based/renewable, recycled material or one that may be produced using or contributing to other sustainable practices for resource conservation and/or emissions reductions including mass-balance materials.”
The company is already using some sustainable materials in some of their tires, with soybean oil appearing in eight of their product lines.
But Goodyear isn’t stopping there: It wants to have the first fully sustainable tire by 2030:
We continue to make progress toward our goal of introducing the first 100% sustainable-material tire in the industry by 2030. The past year was a pivotal one toward achieving this goal. We researched new technologies, identified opportunities for further collaboration and utilized our team’s tenacity to not only demonstrate our capabilities to produce a 90% sustainable-material tire, but to also produce a tire with up to 70% sustainable-material content this year. Our team continues to showcase its innovation and commitment to building a better future.
Chris Helsel, senior vP of Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer, Goodyear
Electrek’s Take
Tires are perhaps an underappreciated area of innovation in the automotive space, and one which could have big benefits in terms of efficiency, air quality, and waste. Rolling resistance is the second most significant source of energy loss in a vehicle behind air drag, so tires can offer a lot of efficiency gains.
But as for materials, one of the (often disingenuous) arguments that many people bring up against electric cars is that “they still have tires and tires are made from oil, so you’re still using oil! HA!”
This is of course ridiculous, as the percentage of oil used for tires is dwarfed by the percentage that is burned in engines. But, as with most disingenuous propaganda, it did come from some tiny kernel of truth.
It is true that tires create a significant amount of waste, and that reducing the amount of waste they are responsible for is a good thing. So a push toward using more sustainable materials and recycling tire waste is an important step toward cleaning up the system, alongside the electrification of transportation and a move to more sustainable transport methods (public transport, bicycles, walkable cities, etc.).
What we’d like to see next is for Goodyear, and other tire companies, to see if there’s anything that can be done about particulate pollution. In the course of normal wear and tear (or when people do sick burnouts), tiny bits of tire get left on the road and kicked up into the air, and those tiny tire bits are a significant contributor to particulate air pollution, which creates smog and harms health.
Car exhaust pollution has reduced significantly in recent years through regulation and as we begin the overall societal shift toward EVs, but so far, we haven’t seen much regulation around tire pollution (or brake dust pollution – another significant source, which EVs reduce by relying more on regenerative braking than friction brakes).
But as exhaust emissions reduce, regulators’ eyes may turn towards these other sources of particulate emissions, and if tire companies don’t want that smoke (pun intended), maybe they can get working on that problem ahead of time, too.
We do think that the definition of “sustainable material” here is perhaps a little broad, as while many of these materials are plant-based, some of them are still petroleum-related – like waste tires, recycled bottles, and methane. But efforts to “close the loop” (“increase circularity” in Goodyear’s parlance) will at least mean society won’t need to use new petroleum products and can continue recycling as much of what we have as possible, while continuing to push the limit on sustainable materials.
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Rivian will power its DC fast-charging network with renewable energy company RWE’s Champion Wind farm in Texas.
The two companies just signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for electricity from RWE’s repowered Champion Wind in Nolan and Mitchell counties, west of Abilene.
The 127-megawatt (MW) Champion Wind is getting new turbine nacelles and blades, which will extend the wind farm’s lifespan. Originally commissioned in 2008, the wind farm is expected to be fully upgraded by mid-2025. When the wind farm is back online, it’ll be capable of generating enough electricity to power nearly 1 billion miles of renewable driving every year for Rivian, or the equivalent of powering 36,000 homes annually in Texas.
This wind power is set to support Rivian’s DC fast-charging Adventure Network with renewable energy. Rivian has set a specific goal to enable 7 billion miles of renewable driving.
Paul Frey, Rivian’s VP of propulsion, charging & adventure products, said, “Champion Wind is a powerful enabler for Rivian drivers to become active participants in building a cleaner grid every time they charge their vehicle. This project shows the potential to meaningfully decarbonize the grid and support a more circular economy through reuse and recovery of existing infrastructure, all while maintaining highly competitive economics.”
Siemens Gamesa is supplying 41 turbines with new nacelles and blades on existing towers. The nacelles and blades are being manufactured in the US. In addition, as part of the repowering project, six new Siemens Gamesa turbines rated at 3.1 MW each will also be added to the wind farm.
The decommissioned wind turbine blades from Champion will be repurposed. RWE is working with REGEN Fiber, an Iowa-based company that recycles wind turbine blades to make reinforcement fibers for the construction industry. Those fibers are then used in concrete to add strength and durability, extending the lifespan of infrastructure.
RWE is the third-largest renewable energy company in the US.
Read more: This renewables giant is going to use wooden wind turbine towers
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Rivian is bringing back its “All-Electric upgrade offer” from now until November 30th, but with some changes to the program.
Earlier this year, Rivian offered $1k-$5k off a new Rivian if you trade in an old gas car, from April to June. The offer was available for specific vehicles, and with a sliding discount scale based on which Rivian vehicle you order.
Now the program has come back, but with quite a few changes from the previous version.
As of today, October 31, if you buy a new Rivian R1T or R1S new inventory vehicle from the R1 Shop, you can get a $3,000 discount if you also prove that you own or lease a qualifying gas-powered vehicle.
This is simultaneously simpler, more lenient, and more restrictive than the previous offer, in various ways.
First, the discount is a flat $3k (or $4,100 CAD), rather than having a scale based on what model you order, which is more streamlined.
Second, the discount applies to every gas or hybrid vehicle owner – you don’t have to trade in your vehicle, and you’re not limited to a specific list of vehicles. Just prove that you own or lease a gas car (copy of registration, proof of insurance, etc), and you get the discount.
However, third, it’s more restrictive as to what vehicles you can purchase. The current offer applies only to Rivian new inventory vehicles in the R1 Shop, and excludes demo vehicles, pre-owned vehicles, or custom build vehicles. It also does not apply to Rivian’s base Dual Standard models, but everything else is fair game.
In order to qualify, you need to place your order between today and November 30, and you must take delivery of the vehicle before December 31. Check out all the specifics of the offer on Rivian’s site here.
Electrek’s Take
Rivian is clearly trying to round out its yearly numbers with this offer, as the market for pricy cars is somewhat soft with increased interest rates. It just slightly lowered its annual delivery guidance, now planning to see roughly similar deliveries this year than last.
But its R1 vehicles just got a huge refresh to help the company with costs and to offer new features. The R1S is still one of the most popular high-priced vehicles in the US, and the company’s products earn universal acclaim from owners.
The interesting thing is that Rivian had a similar offer earlier this year, before the refresh, to help clear out inventory of older vehicles. It didn’t see it fit to offer the discount last quarter, perhaps buoyed by the updated model, but after a rough Q3 of deliveries it now brought the offer back.
Rivian is still guiding to reach a slight gross profit in Q4, though we’re sure we’ll hear more about that in its upcoming quarterly earnings next week.
If our coverage of Rivian has helped inform you about the brand, feel free to use our Rivian referral code to get 6 months of free charging or 750 Rivian Rewards points with your purchase.
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![Hyundai Casper EV Cross spotted for the first time with new design upgrades [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/Hyundai-Casper-EV-battery-2.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Hyundai’s new low-cost EV is getting a bold design upgrade. The Hyundai Casper EV Cross was spotted for the first time in public, revealing new design elements.
Although we knew a rugged “Cross” variant was headed to Europe, this was the first time the domestic model was spotted with an upgraded design.
Hyundai unveiled the Inster EV Cross earlier this month, giving the electric city car an off-road new look.
The Inster EV is Hyundai’s overseas version of its domestic Casper Electric model. In Korea, Hyundai’s Casper EV starts at around $20,000 (27.4 million won). Hyundai said its new EV can be bought for under $8,000 (10 million won) with subsidies.
In Europe, it starts at under $27,000 (25,000 euros). The Cross variant is built for “those looking for an EV with a more adventurous look,” Hyundai said.
Although it offers the same versatility as the standard model, the Inster EV Cross gains rugged design elements, including new front and rear bumpers, black claddings, skid plates, a roof rack, and more.
Here’s our first look at the Hyundai Casper EV Cross
After a rugged new variant with the Casper EV logo was spotted in Korea for the first time, a Cross model is expected to debut shortly.
The new video from HealerTV reveals added design elements, including the roof rack and more aggressive black trim.
The reporter notes that the Hyundai Casper EV Cross has a “much more mechanical and futuristic feel than the existing model.”
It almost appears “robot-like” with an added off-road feel. The Inster EV Cross gets up to 223 mi (360 km) WLTP driving range. In Korea, the Casper Electric is rated with up to 195 miles (315 km) driving range.
Although Hyundai Casper (Inster) EV is not expected to launch in the US, the low-cost model was spotted driving in California for the first time this month.
In the meantime, off-road fans can get in line for Hyundai’s upgraded 2025 IONIQ 5, which will be available with a rugged XRT trim. The 2025 IONIQ 5 XRT model was also recently caught testing ahead of deliveries.
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