Continental has started producing tires CO₂-neutrally at its tire plant in Lousado, Portugal. In fact, it has taken an important step towards its goal of completely CO₂-neutral production.

This is possible thanks to the generation of steam using a boiler, that operates entirely on electricity. Continental uses both self-generated solar power and renewable electricity from the power grid for its steam generation.

Previously, the company used natural gas as the sole energy source for steam generation at the Lousado tire plant. In the tire industry, a large proportion of the energy is necessary to generate steam. Specifically, this energy heats the tires, a process known as vulcanization. The thermal energy turns the raw rubber into flexible and elastic rubber. With an annual production capacity of 18 million tires, the plant in Lousado is a mega plant.

By 2040 at the latest, Continental wants to switch all tire plants completely to CO₂-neutral production processes.

Electric steam boiler

Dr. Bernhard Trilken, Head of Manufacturing and Logistics at Continental Tires said the feat only shows even a very large tire plant can achieve CO₂-neutral production. He took note the availability of renewable energy sources is crucial.

In addition, Trilken said, “We are preparing all our plants so that they can use as much renewable energy as possible. The commissioning of our electric steam boiler in Lousado is the start of an exciting learning curve.”

 The new electric steam boiler converts solar and other green electricity into steam with almost no losses. Water is pumped from the bottom of the boiler to the top, where it is sprayed onto electrodes. Electric current flows through the water jets and creates heat inside the water until it evaporates to steam.

Mixture of different sources for more sustainable processes

A conventional gas boiler will continue to be available in addition to the new electric steam boiler. Thus, this allows Continental to react flexibly to the fluctuating availability of renewable energies and other environmental factors.

 “Our site in Lousado benefits from the fact that the sun shines frequently. This enables us to achieve fully electrified and CO₂-neutral tire production process whenever possible,” said Pedro Carreira, Head of the Continental Tires plant in Lousado, Portugal. He added: “All Continental tire plants are working intensively on making production more and more sustainable and energy efficient. We each have to cope with a very wide variety of conditions, such as weather conditions or the availability of renewable energy sources.”

In Lousado, the sun shines for an average of seven hours a day. In winter, the average is four hours. On the contrary, the sun only shines for 1.8 hours a day in winter in Berlin.

Worldwide emission-free energy generation in Continental tire plants

As a result of years of efforts, Continental Tires has already reached an industry-leading position. Particularly, when it comes to energy consumption per metric ton of tires produced compared to the industry average.  This is the result of a Continental-internal benchmarking exercise. It details the average energy consumption of the world’s leading tire manufacturers, as reported by the Tire Industry Project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

In 2023 alone, Continental’s tire division reduced its annual energy requirements by a total of around 150 gigawatt hours. Thanks to 160 energy-saving projects. This is roughly equivalent to the average annual electricity supply of 12,500 single-family homes.

Furthermore, the ambition of Continental Tires by 2030 is to reduce its energy consumption by 20 percent versus 2018. Continental is aiming to achieve climate-neutral production by 2040 at the latest.

Since the end of 2020, the electricity that the company purchases for all locations worldwide has already been sourced from renewable energy sources and is climate neutral. For this purpose, guarantees of origin conform in accordance with the criteria of the global RE100 Initiative.

Lousado: a site with a long history looking ahead to the future

Thus far, UltraContact NXT is the most sustainable series tire to date. The Lousado site manufacturers tires for cars, agricultural machinery, and off-road vehicles.

With more than 30 years of history in Portugal, Continental is a reliable partner that values its history. Moreover, it honors its commitment to innovation in both tire manufacturing and automotive technology.

17 May 2024