It has been announced that Hankook is now manufacturing their tires out of three different types of ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) Plus certified carbon black. This innovative material is derived from end-of-life tire pyrolysis oil and it is currently created through the Tire-to-Tire Circular Economy Model consortium.

The aim behind the company’s consortium project is to create a circular economy model around producing new tires from end-of-life tires within South Korea. It is along with twelve other Korean companies and institutions that Hankook Tire has picked up the aim to meet the global market demand for carbon neutrality, along with the use of sustainable materials.

It has been made clear that Hankook has been able to achieve this outcome through lots of collaborative research conducted with consortium partners. These partners include businesses such as HD Hyundai and HD Hyundai OCI, who have created the three types of carbon black. They did this through applying refined oil that was obtained from pyrolysis through the use of a mass balance approach.

Furthermore, Hankook Tire has stated that they are ‘ready to use these materials in mass production.’ From this year, Hankook will start to apply certified carbon black to their products, in order to ensure that they meet global sustainability requirements. It has also been agreed that the company will continue working closely with their consortium partners, making it possible to continue developing carbon black that has been manufactured out of 100% pyrolysis oil. The overall aim of this project is to have 100% use of sustainable materials by 2050.