Bridgestone supplies tires made with recovered carbon black, recycled oil, rice husk silica and other recycled and renewable materials to teams participating in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC).

This initiative will mark the first time that tires equipped with ENLITEN technology will be used in motorsport competitions.

Bridgestone’s support of BWSC and sustainability initiatives demonstrates the “Energy” and “Emotion” values ​​of the Bridgestone E8 commitment.

Bridgestone has announced that it will supply the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) teams with tires made from 63% recycled and renewable materials. These wheels are specifically designed to meet the unique challenges of a 3,000 kilometer journey across Australia where ENLITEN’s new technology will be used for the first time in motorsport competition.

Bridgestone has always been committed to maintaining safety as drivers continually face challenges in extreme conditions and situations. The company maintains enormous pride and passion and an unwavering commitment to the development of manufacturing, logistics, brand strength and talent development through motorsports. Bridgestone celebrates its 60th year in motorsport in 2023 and continues its efforts to support sustainable global sport.

1. ENLITEN: Bridgestone’s new technology for designing premium tires for the electric vehicle era.

Bridgestone has developed new tires for the 2023 BWSC that use ENLITEN, the company’s new core product design technology. This development improves the quality of traditional products by improving environmental performance and exceeding customer and market performance requirements. With these leading attributes, Bridgestone focuses on enhancing social and customer value.

These tires have been developed to help teams meet the extreme demands of the 3,000 km race, including rolling resistance, wear and weight reduction. Bridgestone is tailoring these products to teams’ needs to demonstrate this new technology and its exceptional capabilities.

2. BWSC tire is made from 63% recycled and renewable materials.

The tires Bridgestone will supply will be made from 63% recycled and renewable materials (MCN – material circle number), which represents an improvement from approximately 30% at the 2019 BWSC event. Recycled and renewable materials used include recycled organic fibre, recovered carbon. black, recycled rubber chemicals, recycled oil and recycled steel reinforcement. In addition, the tires supplied for the cruiser class have been developed using silica from rice husks and carbon black produced by pyrolysis.

3. Low carbon dioxide emissions when transporting tires.

To deliver tires to BWSC, Bridgestone has decided to partner with DHL, a leading logistics provider with a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. By using DHL’s GoGreen Plus solution, transporting tires to BWSC will be 100% carbon neutral. shipping, through a combination of using clean marine fuels (box) and offsetting emissions through SEE Gold Standard carbon credits (offsets).

“At the company, we are excited to contribute to a more sustainable future for motorsport through the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, using our ENLITEN tires, made from 63% recycled and renewable materials, and through our joint supply chain initiatives. We will demonstrate this new technology in extreme conditions,” said Naotaka Horio, Director of Bridgestone Motorsports. “In addition, as an official sponsor, we hope to help young and diverse engineering minds from around the world create innovative technologies at BWSC that can play a role in creating a more sustainable mobile society in the future.”

By placing sustainability at the center of management and business, Bridgestone is committed to achieving its 2050 vision of delivering social and customer value as a sustainable solutions company. The BWSC plays a unique role in this journey, bringing together motorsport and solutions for the future.

BWSC demonstrates the values ​​of “Energy” and “Emotion” of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, which align with Bridgestone’s corporate commitment to creating a zero-carbon mobility society (Energy), and to inspire and spread joy in the world. (Emotions).