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

BKT

Related Content

  • UK eyes e-scooter design regulations
    February 14, 2025
    A report from TRL and WMG - Warwick Manufacturing Group - recommends technical requirements for e-scooters to improve their safety and ensure they are as inclusive and sustainable as possible.
    Read More
  • Finnish research body highlights hydrogen as future fuel
    May 7, 2013
    The Finnish VTT research body believes that hydrogen offers considerable potential as a future fuel, according to its latest study. The Finnish hydrogen roadmap has been compiled by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and partly funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes). According to VTT’s study, hydrogen fuelled vehicles will be as important as electric/battery types in minimising traffic pollution. The study says that transport applications for hydrogen are now close
    Read More
  • Road surfacing: the case for sustainability
    March 5, 2020
    Erik Denneman* makes the social and business case for sustainable pavements for which much of the technology already exists.
    Read More
  • A new event is preparing the asphalt industry for tomorrow’s world
    September 11, 2018
    An inaugural event for the European bitumen industry urged attendees to look to the future - Kristina Smith reports What will tomorrow’s roads look like? Will lanes be narrower, will the road charge vehicles as they drive on them, will they collect data, will they be self-cleaning and de-polluting? All these questions and more were pondered at a two-day conference in Berlin, entitled ‘Preparing the asphalt industry for the future’. It was the first such event for Eurasphalt & Eurobitume (E&E), and set a
    Read More

Highlighted Content