Tyre legend and global manufacturer, Continental’s Urban Taraxagum bicycle tyre, made from dandelion rubber, has won the German Sustainability Award 2021 in the category ‘Responsible Design’.
“We are very pleased to receive this award,” said Dr Carla Recker, who heads the development project for obtaining natural rubber from dandelions at Continental.
“The fact that we came out on top among 54 finalists shows that our Urban Taraxagum bicycle tyre is a unique product that contributes to the development of a new, alternative and sustainable supply of raw materials.”
Continental has always valued their sustainable and crucial management which according to them is an ‘integral’ part of Continental’s corporate strategy and development, the company said. Continental has put forth efforts to ensure that the natural rubber will no longer be imported exclusively from the tropics in future. Continental says that the natural rubber will be extracted someplace closer to the tyre plants.
According to the tyre legend, the Urban Taraxagum bicycle tyre is the ‘first’ serial product made of dandelion rubber that combines local production with minimal transport distances in the supply chain.
The tyre has now been produced for two years at Continental’s tyre plant in Korbach, Germany. In the Taraxagum research laboratory in Anklam, Germany, employees from agricultural sciences, chemistry, production and process engineering are tasked with the cultivation of the plants as well as the development, construction and operation of machines for experimentation with the processing of the Russian dandelion.
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About Continental tyres:
Continental-Caoutchouc- und Gutta-Percha Compagnie is founded in Hanover on October 8 as a joint stock company. Manufacturing at the main factory in Vahrenwalder Street includes soft rubber products, rubberized fabrics and solid tyres for carriages and bicycles.
The company is guided by social trends, such as the rapid growth of the world’s population and the resulting increase in urbanization, demographic changes and – in particular – globalization. Four megatrends can be derived from these global developments. They form the foundation of the comapny's strategy and their business activities:
- Safety – our aim: zero accidents
To protect life and conserve resources - Information – our aim: saving time, increasing comfort
Intelligent mobility through constantly connected driving - Environment – our aim: clean air
Resource-efficient and emission-free driving - Affordable mobility – our aim: individual mobility for all
Enabling more freedom and opportunities
