How to Make an EV Tire That Won't Pollute the Environment
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Congratulations, world. We've done it. Since passing the Clean Air Act in the 1970s, we've reduced cancer-causing particulate emissions from our cars and other sources dramatically, a change that has added years to our lives.
That's the good news. The bad news is that we can now spend more time focusing on the remaining sources, including some unexpected ones. In an EV era, tires are becoming the greatest emitters of particulate matter, and as we've seen, whether it's the microplastics in our shrimp or the preservatives in our salmon, they're having a disturbing impact on our environment.
Gunnlaugur Erlendsson wants to do something about that. The affable Icelander founded Enso to tackle what he saw as a developing need for better EV tires. The UK-based company's next big step is coming close to home: a $500 million US tire factory specifically for building eco-friendly tires for EVs.
Well, eco-friendlier, anyway.
[...] While EV-specific tires are increasingly common, Erlendsson says most tire manufacturers are too focused on partnering with auto manufacturers, shipping new tires with new cars. So even though technology exists to make tires much better today, it isn't hitting the 90 percent of the tire industry, which is the aftermarket," he said.
While Erlendsson said Enso is working to develop partnerships with those same vehicle manufacturers, the company's US business model will focus on the 90 percent, creating tires in the correct fitments for popular EVs, regardless of brand, then selling them directly to customers.
What makes Enso's tires different? Erlendsson was light on the technical details but promised 10 percent lower rolling resistance than regular tires, equating to a commensurate range increase. That'll make your EV cheaper to run, while a 35 percent increase in tire life means lower wear, fewer particulates in the air, and fewer old tires sent to the incinerator, where half of all American tires go to die.
Enso's new factory will also handle recycling. It will be truly carbon neutral, not reliant on carbon offsets, and manufacture tires out of recycled carbon black and tire silica made from rice husks.
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