Michelin demonstrated its commitment to making its tyres 100 percent sustainable by 2050 during Le Mans.
24 Straight Victories At Le Mans
Michelin once again demonstrated the performance of its tyres by winning for the 24th time in a row at Le Mans. Unbeaten at Le Mans since 1998, Michelin has claimed its 24th victory on the trot, this time around with endurance racing’s new headlining Hypercars, equipped with new Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.
“Michelin is involved in motorsports because motorsports for us is an opportunity to really accelerate our work on sustainability, and the best example we have of that is the vehicle that’s hydrogen-powered and with a set of tyres that are 46 percent sustainable content. So, already a significant step,” commented Scott Clark, executive Vice President, Automotive, Motorsport, Experiences, and Americas Regions.
Fitted to the fuel-cell-powered Green GT H24 prototype, the Michelin racing tyre that already incorporates 46 percent sustainable materials, ran for the fist time at Le Mans, a concrete example of the Group’s All Sustainable plan, whereby all Michelin tyres will be made entirely of sustainable materials by 2050, with an interim target of sustainable materials making up 40 percent of their content by 2030.
This tyre consequently stands out as an illustration of Michelin’s advance in the field of sustainable and high-tech materials and has seen the company successfully combine a high proportion of sustainable materials with very high performance, a circle often considered impossible to square. Such a high proportion of sustainable materials has been achieved by increasing the quantity of natural rubber and incorporating carbon black recovered from end-of-life tyres. The other bio-sourced or recycled sustainable materials that go into this new tyre include everyday products like orange and lemon peel, sunflower oil, resin oil and A, along with recycled scrap steel.
During the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Michelin offered to experiment with technologies that can be used to regenerate everyday waste for use in the manufacture of new tyres. Michelin has positioned itself as a leader of innovative partners, bringing together a diverse range of technological realms.
