Nokian Tyres will lead the Futureproof research, development and innovation program to confront the key challenges of future mobility through solutions including the digitalization of tires and traffic, sustainable product lifecycles, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
The five-year program’s mission is futureproofing resilient European on- and off-road mobility by crosslinking industries, and it will be funded with €20m (US$21m) by Business Finland, Finland’s official organization for innovation funding and trade, investment and travel promotion. The Futureproof project aims to involve over 100 partners.
“The Futureproof program aims to respond to challenges such as climate change and increasing vulnerability of the global value chains with innovations across business, process and technical domains,” said Paolo Pompei, president and CEO of Nokian Tyres. “It drives growth for both Nokian Tyres and the ecosystem partners while creating concrete benefits for drivers.”
The expenditure on the research, development and innovation work is estimated to increase significantly during the program, which is also estimated to create hundreds of new jobs in Finland by 2034.
“Results of the cooperation can vary from a new innovative form of technology used in a tire to a new business opportunity for the mobility sector,” said Pompei. “It is only together we can rise to the challenges, and a cross-industry ecosystem will be needed to find the solutions.”
The Futureproof program consists of four main themes: future mobility and business; sustainable tire lifecycle; digital foundation; and advanced manufacturing. Every theme has specific objectives guiding the joint development with ecosystem partners. The themes aim to tackle issues such as improving the safety and sustainability of Finnish and European mobility, reducing emissions throughout the entire supply chain, developing advanced driving solutions and accelerating the implementation of Industry 5.0.
