Nokian Tyres Aims to Add Birch Bark Renewable Material to Tires

Nokian Tyres has signed a development agreement with a Swedish biomaterial science company Reselo AB to further develop their renewable material Reselo Rubber as a potential new raw material in tires. Reselo Rubber is a completely renewable material made from birch bark sourced from the residue of the global pulp, paper and plywood industry. The aim of the cooperation agreement now signed is to develop the material further to adapt it for commercial tire production.

“According to the initial laboratory tests we have conducted on Reselo Rubber, it has great potential to replace traditional fossil-based materials in tires. Furthermore, the material is not only renewable, but we believe it may also be used to improve the tire’s performance features. We are excited to develop it further in cooperation with Reselo and hope to have Reselo Rubber in Nokian Tyres tires in the future,” says Heini Siekkinen, Senior Manager, Research & Sustainability from Nokian Tyres.

“We are proud and excited to join forces with Nokian Tyres to improve the sustainability of the largest rubber industry segment even further. The partnership with Nokian Tyres marks an important milestone in our ambition to revolutionize the rubber industry with a high performing bio-based rubber,” says Henrik Otendal, CEO and one of the founders of Reselo.

Reselo was the winner of Nokian Tyres’ FAST RACE, BIG CHANGE sustainable tire innovation challenge that aimed to find new solutions for more sustainable tires. After the preliminary testing, the potential of Reselo Rubber as a possible tire material was established, and now the co-operation continues in close collaboration to further develop the material to match demanding tire properties in an industrial scale.

One of Nokian Tyres’ most important sustainability goals is to have 50% of the raw materials in Nokian Tyres tires renewable or recycled by 2030, and the company has reached several milestones recently. In June 2024, the company demonstrated the usability of of UPM BioMotion™, a groundbreaking new renewable material in tires by presenting the concept tire Nokian Tyres Green Step Ligna. In August 2024, Nokian Tyres announced that their factory in Nokia, Finland has obtained the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS. With the certification, Nokian Tyres is able to introduce new sustainable, ISCC PLUS certified raw materials in its tires.

“We believe that Reselo Rubber has potential to be one of the steps on our journey towards our goal and are glad to have Reselo as a partner supporting our quest,” says Teemu Soini, VP, Innovations & Development from Nokian Tyres.

Source: Nokian Tyres