Tires Can Help Cut CO2: Just Ask Michelin
By John O'Dell October 31, 2007
Tire maker Michelin wants consumers to know that choosing the right tires can go a long way toward reducing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases as well as improving fuel economy.
And, of course, it wants to sell as many of its own tires as possible.
So the company has launched a four-city, four-country campaign featuring "Green Meters," giant digital counters showing the real-time fuel savings and carbon dioxide emissions reductions attributable to Michelin "green energy-saving tires" since 1992. The meters are being displayed each evening through Friday on the NASDAQ and Reuters boards in New York City's Times Square, on the faƧade of the Park Inn Hotel in Berlin, on the City Group Mansion Tower in Shanghai, and in the Port de Suffren at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. An online meter will remain active indefinitely, the company said.
What makes a tire "green" is its lower rolling resistance, a factor that can account for up to 20 percent of the energy needed to operate a car and up to 30 percent of the energy consumed by a commercial truck, says Jim Micali, chairman and president of Michelin North America in Greenville, South Carolina.
Rolling resistance is responsible for up to 9 percent of worldwide oil consumption, and up to 3.5 percent of "fossil-derived CO2 emissions" worldwide, Micali says. "The tires you choose make an environmental difference. They impact how your vehicle performs, how much you spend on fuel, and the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that your vehicle emits."
The key ingredient in Michelin's green energy tires–developed 15 years ago–is silica injected into the rubber compound, which reduces rolling resistance by 20 percent. The company says it has sold 570 million such tires worldwide, saving more than 2 billion gallons of fuel and reducing CO2 emissions by more than 50 billion pounds.
Michelin is striving to double tire life and reduce the rolling resistance for passenger car tires another 50 percent over the next 20 years.
"By the time the number of vehicles worldwide doubles," Micali says, Michelin wants "the total tire-related consumption of fuel and raw materials for each such vehicle" to be cut in half.
Michelin also is supporting federal legislation, pending in Congress, that would require information about a tire's rolling resistance to be posted at the point of sale, giving consumers an easy way to compare and "choose the most fuel efficient tires for their vehicles." There can be as much as a 50 percent difference in rolling resistance between brands of tires for the same vehicle, Micali says.
California already has passed legislation that requires a rolling resistance rating for every tire sold in the state, and a labeling system to display these ratings could be in place by 2009, Micali notes.
Robert E. Calem, Contributor
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It's good to see Micheln is starting a new trend in going green and also doubling tire life(will see)for passanger car's.I've alway's like their tire's and they are used in some of the hardest race's.But my real question is,If you really want to go green,why not stop making tire's for racing around circle's(which no one will buy those tire's anyway.I mean how many people have race car's on the street's and only want a few hard mile's out of them?You guy's did a great job making race tire's for decade's ,now let's work on the other 99% of car's on the road,with the same determination you put forth in your racing tire's)and focus on real peolple.
Mr Ball says: You guy's did a great job making race tire's for decade's ,now let's work on the other 99% of car's on the road,with the same determination you put forth in your racing tire's)and focus on real peolple.
Aside from the grammatical and spelling errors, you surely are not serious. Stop making race tires to concentrate on consumer tires. From where do you think the technology comes to make consumer tires? Its called "trickle down" and most companies use the "race track" to perfect their tires (and engines etc) for the general public.
Miss glenngleen, thank's for your response.You are right ,I'm not the best speller ,but I'm working on that.The myth that racing is the only way tire's improve really show's your ignorance.Yes it help's the few performance car's that are on the road ,but not the average driver who does not take his or her's car past the posted speed limit. Tire's existed for consumer's car's before racing came along. HOW DO YOU THINK RACE CAR'S WERE ABLE TO MOVE?I hope to hear from you in the near future.Thank's in advance.Mr.Ball
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