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Continental: Invisible Markers in Tires for Greater Transparency in the Natural Rubber Supply Chain

The marker substance allows for the detection of the geographical origin of raw materials. The supplier has now successfully completed a field test, and the marker substance is unequivocally detectable throughout the entire production process of a tire.

For the first time, a marker substance can be unequivocally detected throughout the entire production process of a tire.| Photo: Continental
For the first time, a marker substance can be unequivocally detected throughout the entire production process of a tire.| Photo: Continental
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Thomas Kanzler

Continental and the technology platform Security Matters (SMX), which specializes in digital tracking through immutable chemical-based barcodes, have successfully managed to unequivocally detect a marker substance for natural rubber in a tire, and thus along the entire production process, for the first time. The special marker technology, further developed by both companies for use in natural rubber, is aimed at contributing to more transparency along the entire value chain of Continental's tires and technical rubber products in the future.

By 2050, all materials should be sustainable

Equipped with special security features, the use of marker substances enables the invisible marking of natural rubber with information about its geographical origin. For instance, natural rubber from a sustainable source can be marked and its origin ensured at every stage of the supply chain up to the customer. Continental thereby strengthens its pioneering role in the commitment to greater transparency along its supply chain. By 2050 at the latest, all materials used by Continental in tire production are to come from responsible sources.

“We see great potential in marker technologies. In the future, they will help us ensure that the natural rubber in our tires is grown and sourced entirely sustainably,” says Claus Petschick, Head of Sustainability for Continental’s Tire Division. He adds, “In the long term, we see marker technologies as a way to make the sometimes very complex processes in our supply chains even more transparent and verifiable. With Security Matters, we have an innovative partner for developing and testing the marker technology at our side.”

Markers Added During Latex Harvest

In the successfully completed field trial, the marker substance passed a true endurance test: it was added directly during the harvest to the sustainably obtained latex sap and withstood both the intensive processing to produce natural rubber and the tire manufacturing process. In the finished tire, the information could be retrieved and unambiguously assigned using specially developed software and a reader device. The appearance and performance of the bicycle tire containing the invisible markers remained unchanged.

“Together with Continental, SMX will employ marker, reading, and digital technology to further enhance the transparency of the natural rubber supply chain and enable sustainability and circular economy,” says Haggai Alon, CEO of SMX.

Training of Smallholders on the Application of the Marker Substance

For the field trial, natural rubber from a joint project between Continental and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, was used and tagged with markers. The project relies on education and digitalization as key components to building sustainable supply chains for natural rubber. Thus, the smallholders on site were trained on how marker substances work and in what concentration they need to be introduced into the latex sap.

Ambition for the Future: Widespread Use in Rubber Products

After the technology successfully passed its first acid test, Continental plans to use the new marker technology more extensively in the context of rubber procurement and to integrate it into other rubber products as well in the future. In the course of industrializing this technology, it is conceivable to link the markers with the particularly tamper-proof blockchain technology. This could additionally support tamper-free monitoring of compliance with quality standards and quality criteria along the complex supply chain of natural rubber.

Tire Production – Climate Neutral by 2050

Continental's tire division pursues a holistic sustainability approach across all phases of a tire's value chain and aims to become the most advanced tire company in terms of ecological and social responsibility by 2030. By 2050 at the latest, the company aims to use 100 percent sustainably produced materials in its tire products and achieve complete climate neutrality across the entire value chain. Both Continental and Security Matters are members of the industry initiative Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), which connects key stakeholders in the natural rubber sector from business and civil society. As members, both companies are actively working to globally improve sustainability in the natural rubber sector.

Start-up co-pace

The collaboration between Continental and Security Matters was initiated by Continental's own start-up organization co-pace. Its goal is to foster, promote, and leverage connections between emerging companies and Continental's business units. The focus areas of the global team of technology experts at co-pace include advanced materials, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, data security, next-generation batteries, advanced propulsion systems, and smart cities.

What does this mean?

Proving sustainability in the supply chain is extremely challenging. For the first time, by adding the marker to the initial raw rubber product, the supply chain can be unmistakably traced. In the long run, Continental plans to use this extensively in rubber products.

Translated automatically from German.
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