Kumho Tyre Targets Sustainable Materials as Part of 2045 Net-Zero Ambition

Kumho Tyre is increasing its focus on sustainable materials as part of a long-term strategy to reduce the environmental impact of tyre production while maintaining product performance.

The company is investing in research and development covering bio-based, recycled and recovered materials, with the stated objective of moving towards 100% sustainable materials by 2045. The programme forms part of Kumho’s wider net-zero ambitions and reflects a broader industry shift towards reducing the carbon and resource impact of tyres beyond the vehicle use phase.

Tyres remain highly complex products, combining natural and synthetic rubber, carbon black, silica, steel, textiles and specialist chemicals. Many of those inputs have traditionally relied on fossil-based or finite resources, making material substitution one of the tyre industry’s most difficult sustainability challenges.

Kumho said its research is focused on three areas: renewables, recycling and reduction.

Its renewables work includes bio-based alternatives to established materials, including bio-based SBR, rice husk silica and bio-based resins. On recycling, the company is exploring the use of materials recovered from end-of-life tyres. Its reduction programme covers weight-saving technologies and approaches to lower rolling resistance, supporting reduced energy consumption during use.

Richard Lyons, Managing Director of Kumho Tyre UK, said sustainability now had to be embedded into product development rather than treated as a future consideration.

“It requires us to carefully consider the materials we use, how those materials are sourced and how they can be recovered and reused at the end of a tyre’s life,” Lyons said. “Our investment in sustainable materials research reflects our long-term commitment to delivering products that not only perform to the highest standards but also contribute to a more sustainable future for the automotive industry.”

The importance of this work lies in the balance between circularity and performance. Alternative materials must still meet the durability, safety and efficiency requirements expected across passenger car, SUV, electric vehicle and commercial vehicle applications.

That challenge is particularly important as tyre manufacturers face increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable progress on sustainability, rather than relying on broad environmental claims. Material innovation, end-of-life recovery and rolling resistance improvement are becoming central to how manufacturers position long-term product development.

Kumho’s 2045 target places the company within a wider movement among global tyre manufacturers to increase the share of renewable, recycled and certified materials in production. The competitive question will be how quickly such materials can move from research and concept applications into scalable, commercially viable production.

For the tyre industry, sustainable materials are no longer a peripheral issue. They are becoming part of the core engineering brief.

Industry Context

Kumho’s announcement supports a wider direction of travel in tyre manufacturing, where sustainability is increasingly being measured across the full lifecycle of the product. The strongest developments are likely to come from materials that can meet established performance requirements while also reducing dependence on fossil-based inputs and improving recovery at end of life.

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Tags: Kumho Tyre; sustainable tyres; sustainable materials; bio-based SBR; rice husk silica; end-of-life tyres; tyre recycling; circular economy; tyre manufacturing; rolling resistance; net zero; recycled materials

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