Scientific award for tires made
from dandelion rubber

The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME, Münster branch), the Institute for Plant Biology and Biotechnology of the University of Münster, and the Tire Division of Continental in Hanover are successfully collaborating on a project entitled “RUBIN – Industrial Emergence of Natural Rubber from Dandelion”. The leading scientists in the project have now been awarded the prestigious Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for their research on the Russian dandelion and the development of car tire prototypes based on dandelion rubber (Fig.).

“The objective of this joint project is to develop a procedure for the industrial use of dandelion as a source of rubber. In agricultural terms, it is an undemanding plant, even in the northern hemisphere, and can be cultivated on land not suitable for food production. This means that rubber production is conceivable near our tire factories, for instance, and the significantly shorter transport routes would also reduce CO₂ emissions,” comments Dr. Carla Recker, who heads the Continental team involved in the development of this promising material. “During our research, we have discovered which genes promote rubber production and which ones hinder it. We were able to use this knowledge to develop plants that produce twice as much natural rubber. We also managed to extract several kilos of dandelion rubber with a small pilot system. This opened up prospects in terms of scaling up industrial production to the level of tons,” said Prof. Dr. Prüfer and Dr. Schulze Gronover at the award ceremony.

With the first test tires having already been tested under both summer and winter conditions, the project is running very successfully so far. Tires made from dandelion rubber show an equivalent property profile when compared with tires made from conventional natural rubber from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). Continental intends to launch series production of tires made from dandelion rubber in five to ten years. „It will make tire production even more environmentally friendly, without compromising our high quality standards or losing out on performance“, added Dr. Carla Recker. Further information about the project is available at //www.taraxagum.de" target="_blank" >www.taraxagum.de:www.taraxagum.de.

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