In 2021, the BlackCycle project already announced the creation of the first sustainable carbon black (s-CB) made from end-of-life tyres pyrolitic oil at a lab scale. That Sustainable CB gave the same rubber properties than the conventional version using fossil feedstock .
In 2022, the BlackCycle project went a step forward by producing the first sustainable carbon black from pyrolitic oil produced with used tyres at the scale of several tons.
This sustainable S-Carbon Black technology has been successfully introduced along with others new sustainable technologies into a Michelin bus tyre to achieve a sustainable rate of 58%.
More specifically, in 2022, the s-CB was introduced into the tread of a Michelin bus tyre and replaced 100% of the conventional (fossil) carbon black.
As a reminder, the tread is the part of the tyre in contact with the road. It plays a key role in the tyre’s wear, safety and rolling resistance.
This tyre has been approved for road use based on a series of extensive performance tests.