Pirelli joining with researchers in China to pursue 'green' low rolling resistance tires

Pirelli is participating in an international research program aimed at developing a new generation of ecologically-friendly tires with the Silvio Tronchetti Provera Foundation and the University of Shandong in Jinan in China.

The university researchers will work in cooperation with the R&D department of the Pirelli Group in China to produce low rolling resistance tires designed to help reduce a vehicle’s fuel consumption. These efforts are a continuation of Pirelli’s continuing goal of creating more “eco-compatible” tires, such as the company’s Cinturato, which was introduced in Europe earlier this year as its new “green” tire.

The agreement between the Italian company and the Chinese university also includes two joint research initiatives with respective goals of realizing more consistent compound mixtures and studying low-temperature tire vulcanization.

Young school faculty scholars, as well as students, graduates, and post-graduate students of the Chinese university will take part in the initiative, under the supervision of Professor Zhao Guoqun, Dean of the College of Material Science and Technology at the University of Shandong, Maurizio Boiocchi, head of R&D at Pirelli Tire and Alexander Bregantim, head of R&D of Pirelli Tire in China. The research activity, which will have a one-year duration, will be carried out in the laboratories of the university with the support of the Pirelli industrial structures in Shandong.

The University of Shandong in Jinan, founded in 1901, is one of the most prestigious Chinese universities in the fields of mathematics and materials science, with more than 40,000 students in its academic and post-graduate courses.

Pirelli has had a large industrial presence in Shandong for three years, producing tires for cars and industrial vehicles in the Yanzhou area through a $200 million investment endeavor that employs some 2,000 people.

With this latest agreement, the Silvio Tronchetti Provera Foundation continues its policy of development and collaboration with international universities, following those set up with the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Craiova. Among the companies which are partners of the Foundation, in addition to Pirelli, are Cisco and STMicroelectronics.

The foundation was created in 2001 for the promotion of research in economics, science and technology – plus other areas of interest for industrial development – focusing mainly on developing young talent in the various fields.