Skip to main content

BKT & Kultevat to explore use of TKS dandelion in tyre making

Off-highway tyre manufacturer BKT has entered into a joint research agreement with Kultevat, a leading US bio-tech company specialising in the cultivation and processing of TKS dandelion as a renewable and sustainable alternative to natural rubber. The agreement will explore the wider use of TKS dandelion, a species of dandelion native to Kazakhstan. The plant has the potential to be used in the production of high quality rubbers used in the tyre manufacturing process. All studies, analyses, experimentation
April 23, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

Off-highway tyre manufacturer 7297 BKT has entered into a joint research agreement with Kultevat, a leading US bio-tech company specialising in the cultivation and processing of TKS dandelion as a renewable and sustainable alternative to natural rubber.

The agreement will explore the wider use of TKS dandelion, a species of dandelion native to Kazakhstan. The plant has the potential to be used in the production of high quality rubbers used in the tyre manufacturing process. All studies, analyses, experimentation and testing will be carried out at BKT´s modern research and development centre, known as the ‘Suresh Poddar Innovation Hub’.

The 25-hectare hub sits within the company’s production site in Bhuj, India. At its opening last year, BKT announced a series of ambitious projects related to sustainable materials, including research into alternatives to natural and synthetic rubber as well as the development of high-performance compounds with nanomaterials and nanocomposites.

The BKT-Kultevat TKS dandelion-based project is fully in line with latest industry requirements and the European Commission’s recommendations concerning critical raw materials.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Asphalt-rubber binder ideal for repairing worn roadways
    February 28, 2012
    Asphalt rubber is a medium that solves the problem of waste tyres and at the same time produces a material that is suitable for highway use.
  • IRF Executives Talks: shaping the future of Intelligent transportation
    August 29, 2024
    Technological advances for the intelligent transportation sector are developing at incredible speed globally. For many leaders in the sector, one of the biggest challenges is how they should use new technology to shape the future of intelligent transportation. SWARCO chief executive, Michael Schuch, put forward his ideas in conversation with IRF Director General Susanna Zammataro ahead of the IRF World Congress in Istanbul in October.
  • Volvo CE ‘routes’ for Chicago highway project
    May 22, 2014
    More than 2.5 million m³ of material is being moved with a fleet of Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) articulated haulers in the US state of Illinois. Home to the world’s first skyscraper, the Chicago Bears – and the Blues Brothers – Illinois is the fifth most populous American state and a major transport hub. Industrial cities and agricultural productivity is growing in central and northern Illinois – while natural resources like coal, timber and oil and gas in the south help provide the state with
  • Higher and higher: David Smith argues for more recycled asphalt
    May 16, 2017
    Debate continues to swirl around the use increased recycled asphalt for road surfaces. David Smith, development director at FM Conway urges more cross-sector work to prove the case for a higher recycled asphalt content. The use of recycled materials within our road network is well-established, but a persistent debate continues around the extent to which asphalt can be reused. Although increasing the proportion of recycled asphalt offers significant economic and environmental benefits, there remains a resist