Dandelion Rubber
ContiWinterRoadshow 2014
Public
Dandelion Rubber ContiWinterRoadshow, 6 to 10 October, 2014
Dr. Holger Lange, © Continental 2
300%
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150%
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50%
0%
Jan-0
8
Jul-08
Jan-0
9
Jul-09
Jan-1
0
Jul-10
Jan-1
1
Jul-11
Jan-1
2
Jul-12
Jan-1
3
Jul-13
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4
Jul-14
Background and Goals Reduce dependency on volatile market
› Highly volatile natural rubber (TSR 20) prices
on the world’s commodity exchanges
› Historically the worldwide tire market has grown at around
three percent a year
› Continental is anticipating similar market growth rates in
the future
› Future demand for natural rubber will inevitably more or
less keep pace with this growth
› So in the long term, continuous growth in demand for
natural rubber is to be expected.
› Opening up an alternative source of raw material is
designed to help Continental reduce its dependency on
traditional rubber plantations and the often volatile prices.
Source: Bloomberg Source: Bloomberg Natural Rubber TSR 20
Public
Dandelion Rubber ContiWinterRoadshow, 6 to 10 October, 2014
Dr. Holger Lange, © Continental 3
The current rubber-growing belt restricted to +/- 30° north and south of the equator
*Headquarters in Hanover
Equator
Lat. 30°N
Lat. 30°S
Hevea
Brasiliensis
Public
Dandelion Rubber ContiWinterRoadshow, 6 to 10 October, 2014
Dr. Holger Lange, © Continental 4
› Continental is cooperating with the Fraunhofer Institute for
Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), the Julius Kühn
Institute, and the plant breeder Aeskulap
› The aim is to cultivate a very high-yield and undemanding
type of dandelion based on the Russian dandelion that by
nature meets these requirements particularly well
› In May, the joint project known as Rubin won the European
GreenTec Award 2014 in the “Automobility” category
› In the summer of 2014 Continental produced the first limited
series of test tires from the WinterContact TS 850 P series
with tread made of dandelion rubber
› The tire’s characteristics are currently being tested at the
Contidrom proving grounds and in Arvidsjaur, Sweden
Joint project with Fraunhofer Institute, Julius Kühn Institute and Aeskulap
Public
Dandelion Rubber ContiWinterRoadshow, 6 to 10 October, 2014
Dr. Holger Lange, © Continental 5
Potential cultivation areas for dandelion rubber Is a new rubber cultivation belt taking shape?
*Headquarters in Hanover
Equator
Lat. 30°N
Lat. 30°S
Hevea
Brasiliensis
Taraxagum
Public
Dandelion Rubber ContiWinterRoadshow, 6 to 10 October, 2014
Dr. Holger Lange, © Continental 6
Our prototype dandelion: The natural rubber is in the roots
› The type of dandelion cultivated in this project even
looks very different from the domestic dandelion that
many people have in their garden
› The roots contain the latex - one of the key raw
materials required in tire production
› The size and yield of the roots are two of the decisive
criteria for the success of the project
› In view of the importance of this project, Continental
has registered the wordmark/logo “Taraxagum”
derived from the botanical name Taraxacum.
Public
Dandelion Rubber ContiWinterRoadshow, 6 to 10 October, 2014
Dr. Holger Lange, © Continental 7
Outlook
› Continental is currently working on the industrialization
of the dandelion plant that has been specifically
cultivated to meet the tire manufacturer’s
requirements
› Continental is aiming to have Taraxagum ready for
series production in the next 5 to 10 years and then
gradually introduce it into volume production
› Updates on future progress in this highly promising
material development project will be published at
regular intervals
› In the meantime, numerous issues and challenges still
need to be resolved
Public
Dandelion Rubber ContiWinterRoadshow, 6 to 10 October, 2014
Dr. Holger Lange, © Continental 8
Further information is available at www.taraxagum.de – then choose language english