Dandelion rubber scientists reap Fraunhofer prize

Hanover, Germany – Researchers from German tire and automotive parts and systems supplier Continental AG have been awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for their work on a collaborative project that has led to the development of car tire prototypes based on dandelion rubber.

The award was given to teams from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME, Münster branch), the Institute for Plant Biology and Biotechnology of the University of Münster, and the Tire Division of Continental in Hanover, for the project entitled "RUBIN – industrial emergence of natural rubber from dandelion".

The award was presented on 9 June in Wiesbaden, Germany, to Dirk Pruefer and Christian Schulze Gronover of IME and Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, and Carla Recker of Continental, said a Conti announcement on 15 June.

In agricultural terms, she added, it is an undemanding plant, even in the northern hemisphere, and can be cultivated on land not suitable for food production.

Rubber production can, therefore, be closer to plants, cutting transport routes and as a result CO2 emissions, she added.

Also speaking at the awards were Pruefer and Schulze Gronover, who explained the discovery of the genes that promote rubber production and the ones that hinder it.

“We were able to use this knowledge to develop plants that produce twice as much natural rubber,” said the scientists.

With the first test tires having already been tested under both summer and winter conditions, Continental says the project is running “very successfully” so far.

According to Conti, tires made from dandelion rubber show an equivalent property profile when compared with tires made from conventional natural rubber from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).

Continental has announced that it intends to launch series production of tires made from dandelion rubber in five to ten years.