DUNLOP (Company name: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.; President and CEO: Satoru Yamamoto) is pleased to announce that it has for the first time adopted the sustainable carbon black for mass-production tires designed for certain passenger car models. The sustainable carbon black is produced via a chemical recycling process* that uses end-of-life tires (“ELTs”) and other materials. The production commenced at its Miyazaki Factory in November as part of the company’s efforts to promote recycling of resources.

The sustainable carbon black is manufactured using rubber chippings generated from tire manufacturing processes and crushed ELTs, which undergo a process called chemical recycling. We have been working on it in a joint project with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation since January 2025.

This past August, we supplied racing tires produced using this material for a real-world racing series: the GT300 Class in Round 4 of the 2025 AUTOBACS SUPER GT, where the vehicle equipped with the tires took victories two days in a row. The tires demonstrated consistently stable performance throughout the race in the motorsports field, which stands at the forefront of tire development where the latest vehicles are introduced.

The adoption of the sustainable carbon black for mass-production tires for certain passenger car models is part of our efforts to put TOWANOWA, our Circular Economy Concept for the Tire Industry, into practice.

TOWANOWA features a two-ring structure: the Sustainable Ring, which consists of five categories of processes in the supply chain, and the Data Ring, which links together sets of big data gathered from each process. By sharing and utilizing data between the two Rings, we seek to deliver new value. Based on the TOWANOWA concept, we have been implementing initiatives to reduce environmental impact, including the promotion of sustainable raw materials.

By putting TOWANOWA into practice, we will continue striving to reduce environmental impact, enhance the performance and safety of tires, and expand our solutions services. Through these activities, we will contribute to providing new value to our customers and realizing a sustainable future for mobility society.

A Collaborative Framework to Support Resource Recycling

Sumitomo Rubber and Mitsubishi Chemical have formed a collaborative framework where the two companies pursue resource recycling initiatives for carbon black, a primary raw material of tires. Sumitomo Rubber supplies rubber chippings generated from tire manufacturing processes and crushed ELTs (recycled materials) to Mitsubishi Chemical. At Mitsubishi Chemical, these materials are fed into coke ovens for chemical recycling to produce the sustainable carbon black. Sumitomo Rubber and Mitsubishi Chemical will work together to contribute to realizing a circular economy in the automobile and tire industries.

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Learn More:

• Tire Pyrolysis & Rubber Recovery Solutions
• Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) Applications
• Waste-to-Energy & Circular Economy Projects
• Plastic & Rubber Recycling Technologies
• Industrial Decarbonization Strategies  

Secure Your Position in the Circular Tire Supply Chain with Klean Industries

Dunlop’s move into mass production of tires using sustainable carbon black marks a turning point: circular materials are no longer experimental—they are entering mainstream manufacturing.

However, scaling this transition depends on one critical constraint: reliable, high-quality feedstock from end-of-life tyres.

Klean Industries enables companies to control this advantage:

• Proven tire pyrolysis systems producing consistent carbon-rich outputs
• Advanced upgrading technologies for high-performance recovered carbon black (rCB)
• Integration with refining, carbon black, and fuel markets
• End-to-end development of circular supply chains from ELT collection to finished materials
• Expertise in scaling projects beyond pilot and demonstration phases

As tire manufacturers accelerate toward sustainable material targets, the leaders will be those who control feedstock quality, process technology, and downstream integration.

Contact Klean Industries to build your circular tire manufacturing strategy » GO.