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Each year, well over a billion tires worldwide reach the end of their life. Many of these discarded tires still accumulate in landfills or are burned for a one-time energy gain, creating pollution and wasting valuable materials. Tire pyrolysis, a form of chemical recycling, breaks down end-of-life tires (ELT) into useful products like oil (TPO), gas, and recovered carbon black (rCB). Across the globe – and especially in Europe and the United States – evolving legal frameworks are transforming tire-derived pyrolysis oil (TPO) into a strategic commodity. New laws and policies on both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to treat TPO as a sought-after resource for fuels and petrochemicals. This shift in perspective is driving a wave of investment and innovation in ELT (end-of-life tire) pyrolysis, positioning it as a crucial component in the puzzle of the circular economy.

Continental is integrating even more renewable and recycled materials into its tire production. While their share averaged 26 percent in 2024, the tire manufacturer expects this figure to increase by two to three percentage points in 2025. This increase is due to the use of synthetic rubber obtained from renewable or circular oil, polyester made from recycled PET, recycled steel, and innovative fillers such as silica from rice husk ash. In addition to introducing various sustainable materials, changes in the product mix may influence this key figure's development.

Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) announced that the company will debut a demonstration commercial tire at WasteExpo. The tire supports the use of 70% recycled and renewable materials1, making it the first commercially available tire in industry history to reach the milestone. It is the company’s first waste-specific tire to earn ISCC PLUS certification, a globally recognized system that supports the transition to a circular economy and bioeconomy.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) have developed an innovative chemical method that breaks down rubber waste into valuable precursors for epoxy resins. Led by Dr. Aleksandr Zhukhovitskiy, the study presents an alternative to traditional recycling methods like pyrolysis, which can release harmful byproducts. Instead, the new process uses C–H amination and a backbone rearrangement technique to transform cross-linked rubber into amine-functionalized, soluble materials.

A research team from the School of Chemical & Process Engineering at the University of Leeds, UK, has published a comprehensive study in the Journal of the Energy Institute (Volume 118, 2025) on the thermal decomposition of end-of-life tires (ELT) and plastics. The study investigates the potential of co-pyrolysis, a process that thermally decomposes mixed materials under oxygen-free conditions, to enhance the production of valuable products such as oil (TPO), gas, and char (raw rCB). Utilizing a laboratory-scale batch reactor, the researchers focused on a 1:1 mass ratio of tire and plastic feedstocks, examining the synergistic effects of decomposition and their impact on product quality and yield.

Bridgestone has announced plans to construct a pilot demonstration plant for precise pyrolysis*1 of end-of-life tires at its plant in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The plant will start operating in 2027 with an aim to realize horizontal recycling of tires. The facility will demonstrate the technology needed for establishing and optimizing precise pyrolysis of end-of-life tires, which involves obtaining tire-derived oil and recovered carbon black from end-of-life tires. In demonstrating this technology, Bridgestone aims to help accelerate the social implementation of chemical recycling technology. This project is part of the company's exploratory business for "Sowing New Seeds" in its Mid Term Business Plan (2024-2026) for sustainable growth in the future.

SIBUR, a leading Russian petrochemical company, is advancing its efforts to substitute natural rubber in tires with synthetic alternatives. The company is collaborating with tire manufacturers to finalize tests of experimental tires made using synthetic isoprene rubber, with results expected in 2025.

Synthos, a global producer of synthetic rubber, has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI), a Japanese tire manufacturer, to promote the development and use of high-performance rubber powders for the production of sustainable tires.

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. is doubling its rubber recycling capacity at the Morimachi Plant in central Japan to accelerate the recycling of rubber used in automobiles. While progress is being made in the recycling of resources such as steel and plastic in the automobile industry, the recycling of rubber products is difficult and almost all rubber waste is incinerated (utilization of heat). Toyoda Gosei began operations of its first recycling line in FY2021, using its proprietary devulcanization technology that can recycle rubber products into high quality raw materials. The company has been reusing the waste material generated in the production of products.