News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

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.

Murfitts Industries and tyre giant Michelin have announced a project to process old tyres, recovering the energy and materials within them. As part of the project, Murfitts, the UK’s largest tyre recycling company, has submitted plans to set up a tyre reprocessing site at Michelin’s Stoke-on-Trent premises. The “cutting-edge” process developed by Murfitts will reportedly generate energy which will be used to power Michelin’s production on site, thereby lowering CO2 emissions from the factory by 1,500 tonnes per year. In addition to the energy recovered, the process will also produce recovered carbon black (rCB) and tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO).

Tyre Stewardship Australia’s newly released Material Flow Analysis Report is the national benchmark for tyre flows, recovery, and end-of-life fates. Developed in partnership with sustainability consultancy Blue Environment, it provides the most comprehensive and independent dataset available on tyre material flows in Australia — tracking volumes from import to reuse, recycling, energy recovery and disposal.

Modern Meadow, a pioneer in bio-design, has partnered with Mercedes-Benz AG to develop a sustainable leather alternative for the CONCEPT AMG GT XX. Using Modern Meadow’s INNOVERA™, the collaboration aims to set new interior standards for future vehicles. The innovative material combines plant-based proteins, biopolymers, and chemically recycled AMG GT3 racing tires, aligning with the mass balance approach.

In Episode 74 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast, John Loudermilk, CEO of Birla Carbon, shares insights into the future of recovered carbon black (rCB). He outlines Birla Carbon’s approach to scaling sustainable carbon-based materials, discusses current limitations facing rCB, and explores how continued research may expand its potential uses. The episode also covers the launch of Continua 8030 and updates on the company’s new Patalganga facility.

Pyrum Innovations AG (Pyrum) today published its consolidated interim report for the period from 1 January to 31 March 2025. Sales in the first three months totalled EUR 509 thousand, up around 51% on the same period of the previous year (3M 2024: EUR 336 thousand). Own work capitalised amounted to EUR 2,676 thousand (3M 2024: EUR 1,615 thousand) as construction of the plant expansion in Dillingen progressed according to plan. Total output therefore increased by around 55% to EUR 3,365 thousand (3M 2024: EUR 2,177 thousand).

Innovando’s Sustainability Director, Cveta Majtanovic, spoke at the conference on the RFID ecosystem in tires at Autopromotec. Innovando was present at the RFID Ecosystem Village in collaboration with leading industry partners to showcase the Digital Tyre Platform

Pyrum GreenFactory II GmbH received approval for the early start of construction of the new Pyrum plant in Perl-Besch. Pyrum GreenFactory II GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pyrum Innovations AG (ISIN: DE000A2G8ZX8), which was founded last year to operate the new Pyrum plant. With the new plant, Pyrum is further expanding its recycling capacities in Saarland – it is already the second own site that the company will build and operate independently.

Contec S.A. has announced the successful deliveries of multiple shipments of tire pyrolysis oil (ConPyro®) to Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC), marking a significant early milestone in the long-term collaboration between the two companies. These initial shipments were made possible by processing significant quantities of end-of-life tires using Contec’s proprietary Molten® technology.