“Goodyear wants the tyre to be an even more powerful contributor to answering consumers’ specific mobility needs, said Mike Rytokoski, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, Goodyear Europe, “It was with that ambition that we set out to create a concept tyre primed for the future of personalised and convenient electric mobility.”

The reCharge concept includes a number of innovative features that are built around three pillars:

Personalized

• At the core of the reCharge concept is a reloadable and biodegradable tread compound that can be recharged with individual capsules, radically simplifying the process of replacing your tyres. Filled with a customized liquid compound, these capsules allow the tread to regenerate and the tyre to adapt over time to climatic circumstances, road conditions, or simply how you want to travel. Thanks to artificial intelligence a driver profile would be created around which the liquid compound would be customised, generating a compound blend tailored to each individual.

Sustainable

• The compound itself would be made from a biological material and would be reinforced with fibres inspired by one of the toughest natural materials in the world - spider silk. This would make it both extremely durable and 100 percent biodegradable.

Hassle-Free

• In addition to radically simplifying the process of replacing your tyres with rechargeable capsules, the tread would be supported by a light-weight, non-pneumatic frame and tall-and-narrow shape. This is a thin, robust low-maintenance construction that would eliminate the need for pressure maintenance or downtime related to punctures.

“The Goodyear reCharge is a concept tyre without compromise, supporting personalized, sustainable and hassle-free electric mobility,” concluded Sebastien Fontaine, Lead Designer at the Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg.

Combining a traction level to meet the severe snow 3PMSF requirement while also delivering rolling resistance performance as an A-class tire is a significant achievement. Enabling both premium traction and premium fuel efficiency – a benefit from rolling resistance performance – helps represent an example of Goodyear’s successful role in future mobility solutions.

The project represented great teamwork and cross-functional collaboration between Goodyear’s technology teams in Luxembourg and Germany, leveraging the most recent tread pattern developments conducted in the replacement all-season lines, as well as new rubber compounding formulations. The Goodyear teams have been working with vehicle manufacturers on this technological breakthrough, with fitments planned for later this year on vehicles such as the Peugeot 2008/3008/5008, DS3 Crossback and DS7 Crossback.

Several additional Goodyear fitments for other original equipment manufacturers will follow this year.

“This project is a great example of anticipating the needs of the customer, demonstrating our technical superiority, and converting advanced technology into customer benefits,” said Xavier Fraipont, Goodyear’s vice president of EMEA Product Development.

Note: In European Tire Labeling, there are three categories: Fuel Efficiency; Wet Grip and Tire External Rolling Noise. In the Fuel Efficiency category, seven classes exist, ranging from G (least efficient) to A (most efficient).