Bridgestone awarded $35m grant to advance guayule rubber project

Nashville, Tennessee – Bridgestone Americas has been awarded a $35 million (€33.7 million) climate-smart grant by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to invest in the production of natural rubber (NR) from desert shrub guayule.

In a 17 Nov statement, Bridgestone said it will use the funding to attract additional guayule growers in southwestern US from among local farmers and Native American tribes.

This, it said, will be offering local farmers a more environmentally sustainable crop amid the ongoing water crisis in the region.

"At Bridgestone, we have been committed to guayule as a domestic source of natural rubber since our research initiative in this desert shrub began in 2012,” said William Niaura, director of sustainable materials and circular economy, Bridgestone Americas.

"By participating in this larger industry-wide initiative led by the USDA, we can continue our commitment to establishing a natural rubber industry domestically in a climate-smart way,” he added.

The USDA partnerships for climate-smart commodities has been established to expand markets for "climate-smart commodities" in Americas.

The Bridgestone funds will be disbursed through a five-year period from 2023-2027 and will aim to reduce overall costs for guayule growers.