Harima is glad to announce expanding its portfolio of highly sustainable products with the addition of softeners for car tires. Containing over 99% biomass, the newly developed softeners meet the increasing demand for eco-friendliness in the automotive sector.

Recent years have seen world industries shifting towards more sustainable solutions, with tire manufacturers in Japan aiming to replace by 30%～40% traditional petroleum-based materials with greener alternatives by 2030, and having in view a complete substitution by 2050. From among the various components of tire rubber, such as rubber and fillers, softeners greatly impact the quality and performance of tires. Their main role is to make the rubber more malleable, while also helping to homogenously blend the other compounds of rubber thus enhancing its processability. The vast majority of softeners use petroleum, however conventional biomass softeners have thus far fallen short of meeting the parameters that ensure optimal tire functionality.

Harima's softeners deliver performance on par with their market equivalents, while at the same time being remarkably sustainable in that they contain over 99% biomass agents, such as pine-derived materials, with substantial contributions to mitigating carbon emissions in the entire supply chain. Our lineup also includes recently acquired International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) items, which means we can now provide products of an ever-higher quality and traceability. Among some of their best properties are grip superior to that of existing biomass softeners, and wear resistance 10% higher than that of conventional items, the latter helping extend the service life of tires, with considerable benefits on the reduction of industrial waste, resource usage, and user costs. Moreover, our softeners can also be successfully employed with the tires of electric vehicles which tend to be heavier and therefore require augmented resistance to friction and wear.

In the coming years, Harima will continue to develop advanced products that truly contribute to environmental preservation and the realization of a circular economy.

■Reference Data

・Harima Acquires ISCC Certification
https://www.harima.co.jp/en/newsroom/pdf/news250203e1.pdf

■Contact
Public Relations, Harima Chemicals Group, Inc.
URL:https://www.harima.co.jp/en/inquiry.php