Continental tires featuring ContiRe.Tex technology are now available to all dealers in Europe and will be widely available in the UK by the end of the year. The technology has been in series production since April 2022 and can completely replace the use of conventional polyester in the tire carcass.
Conti unveiled the specially developed ContiRe.Tex technology for the first time in September 2021. The polyester yarn in ContiRe.Tex is obtained from used PET bottles without any intermediate chemical steps or other recycling processes, making it considerably more efficient than other methods for processing PET bottles into high-performance polyester yarns. The bottles used for the technology come exclusively from regions without a closed recycling loop. A set of standard passenger car tires uses the material from around 40 recycled PET bottles. Tires with ContiRe.Tex technology have a special logo on the sidewall.
As the first tire maker to launch volume production of recycled polyester yarn obtained from PET plastic bottles in PCR tires, Continental aims to use only sustainable materials in its tire production by 2050 at the latest.
Currently, the technology is offered in three models, in five dimensions each: PremiumContact 6, EcoContact 6 and the all-season AllSeasonContact.
ContiRe.Tex was recently shortlisted for the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence, which took place at Tire Technology Expo in Hannover last month. Continental won the coveted Tire Manufacturer of the Year award.
