Continental prioritising use of renewable and recycled materials

Continental says it is increasingly prioritising renewable and recycled materials in its tyre production. While the share of these materials averaged 26 per cent in 2024, the tyre manufacturer expects an increase of two to three percentage points in 2025.

By 2030, the share of renewable and recycled materials in Continental’s tyre production is set to rise to over 40 per cent – while maintaining consistently high safety and performance standards.

Carbon black and silica play a crucial role in this transformation because, alongside rubber, they make up a large proportion of the raw materials in tyre production. Both are fillers that make the rubber, for example in the tyre tread, resistant and are also responsible for essential tyre quality characteristics such as grip and braking performance.

Continental obtains both materials in proportion from recycled and renewable sources in order to reduce resource consumption. Silica, a filler required to achieve optimal grip and reduced rolling resistance, can be obtained from rice husks instead of quartz sand. The husks are an agricultural by-product from the production of risotto rice, for example.

For the raw material carbon black, Continental says it relies on three innovative processes. Firstly, carbon black can be produced from bio-based alternatives such as tall oil, a waste product from the paper industry, instead of crude oil.

Secondly, it can be produced from recycled raw materials such as pyrolysis oil from end-of-life tyres. Thirdly, a particularly efficient pyrolysis process enables the recovery of carbon black directly from end-of-life tyres.

“Innovation and sustainability go hand in hand at Continental. Using silica from the ashes of rice husks in our tyres shows that we are breaking completely new ground – without compromising on safety, quality or performance,” said Jorge Almeida, head of sustainability at Continental Tires.