Goodyear Oxygene - tyres that produce oxygen to provide cleaner, more convenient urban mobility

Concerned about the constantly increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the natural disasters caused by it, the Goodyear company’s engineers presented to the world their innovative development - the concept of Oxygene tyres producing oxygen.

The innovation was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March this year. It is a non-pneumatic tyre that features temperature-resistant moss growing inside. It absorbs carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen instead. The moisture necessary for watering the plant is supplied, due to the special structure of the tread, directly from ambient air. And all these processes are controlled by artificial intelligence.

It is expected that the use of such tyres will help significantly improve the situation with CO2 emissions, especially in megacities. According to expert estimates, during one year 2.5 million cars equipped with Oxygene tyres will be able to produce up to 3,000 tons of oxygen and absorb about 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide. This will help reduce the greenhouse effect.

The current situation with transport and CO2 emissions is really acute. According to statistics, one tree produces per year an amount of oxygen, sufficient for a family of three people - about 120 kg, and absorbs from the atmosphere the same amount of carbon dioxide. The same amount of O2 is consumed in burning 50 litres of fuel. It turns out that about 30 trees are required to restore the oxygen used by one car per year. The number of cars is growing every year, and the number of trees is decreasing. Therefore, for many manufacturers, the developments aimed at reducing the concentration of CO2 have become one of the main areas of their activity.

Photosynthesis is always accompanied by energy release. Designers of the Goodyear Oxygene tyres decided to use it to power the sensors and the light strip integrated into the tread. The light strip will be an excellent addition to the currently used signaling devices. It will be able to switch to different operation modes and change the light colour, signaling the driver’s intention to maneuver to other road users. Moreover, the use of the LiFi and Speed-of-Light technologies will allow the innovative product to exchange data with the tyres of other vehicles.

Goodyear Oxygene will be made of recycled materials, namely, rubber powder from waste tyres, using the 3D printing method.