Cooper Tire has built a tire using new guayule related materials and rubber extracted from Guayule plants.
Presently the technical team of Cooper Tire is testing the new product by using rigorous wheel, road and track tests.
The company suggests that the performance is expected to be the same as that provided by tires made using Hevea rubber plant.
The company is a part of a consortium which received $6.9m Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) grant in 2012 from the USDA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) for research aiming to develop tire from solid rubber extracted from the guayule plant.
Cooper Global Research and Development senior vice president Chuck Yurkovich said: “As the lead company in the consortium, we are extremely pleased with the progress that the group has made to advance guayule technology on all fronts.
“The team is making rapid progress toward a commercial source of domestic natural rubber, and ultimately, tires made with guayule rubber.”
– automotive-business-review.com
