Continental phases out coal and heavy fuel oil in tyre production

Coal and heavy fuel oil have been fully phased out across all of Continental’s tyre production sites, the manufacturer has confirmed.

As of this January, all plants have adopted alternative energy sources to generate the steam required for manufacturing tyres and heating.

These alternatives include biomass, biogas, electricity from renewable sources, and alternative fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas in order to ensure a constant energy supply.

“For us, coal and heavy fuel oil are a thing of the past. The future increasingly lies in renewable energies,” said Dr. Bernhard Trilken, head of mnufacturing and logistics at Continental Tires.

“By relying on a smart mix of energy sources – increasingly renewable and ideally generated directly on site – we are making our manufacturing more independent and therefore more resilient.”

Until the early 2020s, seven of Continental’s 19 production facilities worldwide relied on coal and heavy fuel oil to generate steam. This approach ensured constant thermal output and high operational reliability even in regions with limited gas or electricity infrastructure.

Today, all Continental tyre plants draw on a diversified mix of alternative energy sources, enabled by systematic and long-term investments.

In tyre manufacturing, a significant share of energy is required for heating processes such as vulcanisation, which gives rubber its elastic properties. While this step has long used steam produced directly from fossil-based energy sources, new advanced electric technologies make the process far more flexible and more energy efficient.

In addition, since 2020 Continental has purchased electricity exclusively from renewable sources and is continuing to expand its own renewable energy generation. The company says it reduced the greenhouse gas intensity of its production by more than 10 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year and by around 70 per cent compared to 2019.

Especially by switching to lower‑emission energy sources, Continental says it has cut around 180,000 metric tons of CO₂ from tyre production over the past four years.