Nokian signs rCB purchase agreement with Enviro JV

Nokia, Finland – Nokian Tyres has recently announced a long-term purchase agreement for recovered carbon black (rCB) produced by Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro).

The deal was signed with a tire recycling joint venture “formed eg by Antin Infrastructure Partners and Scandinavian Enviro Systems,” Nokian stated in an 8 Feb release.*

The agreement will help the company increase the share of recycled and renewable raw materials in tires to 50% by 2030, added Nokian, which started using rCB in a commercial product line in 2022.

The supplier JV, noted the tire maker, plans to establish end-of-life tire (ELT) recycling plants across Europe, with a total capacity to recycle up to one million tons of ELTs annually by 2030.

The first plant, located in Sweden, is expected to be fully operational by 2025, with deliveries for Nokian Tyres slated to begin in 2026.

Use of rCB reduces the use of virgin raw materials, while emissions from manufacturing rCB are over 90% lower, according to Juha Hietalahti, VP, procurement at Nokian Tyres.

A demanding task, noted Hietalahti, is “to find the right balance between raw material selection and tire properties, as the use of recycled or renewable materials must not impair a tire’s safety characteristics,”.

The rCB that we will receive with this agreement “is an important step in creating even more sustainable premium tires that provide safety in all driving conditions,” the Nokian executive concluded.

*As ERJ has since reported, Enviro has now broken ground on a large-scale ELT pyrolysis plant in Uddevalla, Sweden, having finalised plans for the unit with JV partners Antin Infrastructure Partners and Michelin. (ERJ report)