Bridgestone and Ajinomoto jointly developing synthetic rubber from biomass

According to Bridgestone, this development verifies the practical feasibility and could be a milestone for achieving the company's sustainability goals. Through efforts such as the research into bio-materials, for both natural and synthetic rubber, Bridgestone is working to develop tyres using “100% sustainable materials” (renewable and recyclable resources). The company is also involved in other efforts to develop technologies and processes that help recycle and reduce the use of resources as well as projects to develop concept tyres made from “100 % sustainable materials”.

Since IR can replace natural rubber in some cases, the company expects it to be one of the means of diversifying raw material sources for tyres. Looking ahead, Bridgestone aims to promote IR bioengineering technologies while confirming its rubber properties and further enhancing polymerization catalyst technologies for developing IR with more advanced performance features.