Finland-based Nokian Tyres and Swedish biomaterials company Reselo have signed an agreement to develop Reselo Rubber as a raw material for tires. Reselo Rubber is a renewable material made from birch bark, a residue from the global pulp, paper and sawmill industries. The new agreement aims to develop the substance further for commercial tire manufacturing.
The partnership came to fruition after Reselo won Nokian Tyres’ Fast Race, Big Change tire innovation challenge to find solutions for durable tires. Nokian Tyres aspires to achieve 50% use of renewed or recycled raw materials in its products by 2030. Its factory in Nokia, Finland, received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus, enabling it to use sustainable materials in its tires.
“According to the initial laboratory tests we have carried out, Reselo Rubber shows great potential to replace traditional fossil-based materials in tires. In addition, not only is the material renewable but we believe it can also be used to improve tire performance. We are happy to develop Reselo Rubber further in cooperation with Reselo and we hope to have Reselo Rubber in Nokian tires in the future,” said Heini Siekkinen, senior manager of research and sustainability at Nokian Tyres.
“The partnership with Nokian Tires marks an important milestone in our ambition to revolutionize the rubber industry with a high-performance bio-based rubber,” said Henrik Otendal, CEO and one of the founders of Reselo.
