Toyo Tires launches research on sustainable raw materials in Serbia

Hyogo, Japan – Toyo Tire Holdings of Europe and Serbia’s University of Novi Sad have entered a partnership to advance sustainable raw materials to be used by the Japanese manufacturer in the production of tires in Serbia.

The collaboration will focus on the use of renewable raw materials such as rice husk ash silica as well as recycled feedstock including recycled carbon black in the manufacture of tires.

Having a production base in Indjija, northern Serbia, the partnership is expected to promote technology development in both Japan and Serbia, said the tire maker 6 Nov.

Located 35km to the north of Indjija, Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia after the capital Belgrade.

The University of Novi Sad, according to Toyo, is “one of the largest universities in central Europe”, with 14 faculties, nearly 50,000 students, and over 5,000 faculty members.

The project will see Toyo working with the university’s faculty of technology, which is claimed to be “internationally renowned in the field of rubber technology”.

Furthermore, Toyo will tap into the expertise of the university’s faculty of agriculture for developing renewable materials, using plants derived from Serbia.

The initiative is part of Toyo’s target of using 40% sustainable raw materials in its products to by 2030 and 100% by 2050.

“It makes perfect sense to start research and development of sustainable raw materials here at this university,” the tire maker said.