Conti Rolls Ahead with Plans for Dandelion-Based Rubber Tires

Continental AG aims to introduce tires made from dandelion roots in as little as five years.

The tire industry briefly experimented in the 1940s with rubber made from Russian dandelions when World War II created supply shortages of rubber derived from hevea brasiliensis trees. Continental and other tiremakers have jumpstarted research in the area in recent years as demand for rubber increases.

Continental began testing tires with 100% of their rubber tread derived from Russian dandelions in 2014. Late last year the company also tested the material, which it calls Taraxagum, in prototype engine mounts.

Natural rubber currently is sourced from trees in countries near the equator in southeast Asia, west Africa and South America. Synthetic rubber is produced from petroleum. As much as one-third of a car tire is made of natural rubber, according to Continental.

Unlike so-called rubber trees, the Russian dandelion (taraxcum) can be imported to other regions and grown in relatively moderate climates, Conti notes. This could substantially increase rubber supply and eliminate transportation costs of shipping rubber to tire production facilities around the world.

The Russian dandelion plant can grow on barren land that can't be used for crop plants, where it won't compete with food production, proponents note. Another advantage: Russian dandelions can be harvested in less than a year; rubber trees take more than seven times as long to cultivate.

Continental says it is working to optimize dandelion seeds and develop suitable cultivation and harvesting technology to make the wild flower a viable source of rubber. The company is partnering on the project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, the Julius Kuhn Institute and plant-breeding company Eskusa.