Issue 02/2019

Materials
Holmer harvesting machines for sugar beet
“We are proud to inaugurate this lighthouse project today.
We are the first tyre manufacturer in the world to invest such
a significant amount in industrializing dandelion rubber.
We see Russian dandelion as an important alternative and
complementary to conventional natural rubber from hevea
brasiliensis allowing us to meet rising global demand in an
environmentally compatible and reliable way.” Additionally,
the investment in the new research laboratory is another
technological milestone on the road to implement the Vision
2025 Continental has developed for its tyre business. “As
part of our Vision 2025 strategy, we have invested far more
than € 2 billion in production, research, and development
as well as in jobs and new products worldwide since 2011.
2018, Anklam now features prominently in the series of
unique projects in Europe, America, and Asia,” highlighted
Setzer.
“We have been working to understand the molecular
basis of the rubber biosynthesis in the dandelion plant for
many years. This biological understanding has now brought
industrial use within reach. With the new test laboratory,
Continental has broken new ground that makes this transfer
concept highly visible,” emphasized Dirk Prüfer, Professor
of Plant Biotechnology at the University of Münster and site
director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology
and Applied Ecology IME, Münster branch.
Continental had presented the plans for the laboratory in
August 2016 and began construction in Anklam in November
2017. The tyre manufacturer has been conducting research
into replacing natural rubber from the tropics with plants
which can be grown at moderate climates since 2011 in
collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute IME in Münster,
the Julius Kühn-Institute in Quedlinburg, the plant breeder
ESKUSA in Parkstetten and other partners in various
research projects with support from the German Federal
Ministry of Education and Research as well as the German
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The first sample
of a premium winter tyre featuring a tread made from pure
dandelion rubber was brought onto the road in 2014. The
first truck tyre with a tread made from Taraxagum then
followed at International Automobile Fair (IAA) 2016. MT
www.taraxagum.com | www.continental-corporation.com |
www.lfl.bayern.de/ | www.holmer-maschinenbau.com
Info
See a video-clip at:
tinyurl.com/videotaraxagum
Birth of the first Taraxagum tyre
Winter-testing of Taraxagum tyres in Finland
(these photos: Continental - from video clip)
bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14 21