Tech Company Claims Carbon Neutral Auto Fuel from Tires
An US company claims to solve two ecological challenges in one go by converting micro-plastic from old vehicle tires into carbon neutral fuel for ICE powertrains.
The issues are becoming increasingly relevant for two main reasons. Firstly, BEVs known to wear out tires far quicker than equivalent ICE powered vehicles, owing to their greater weight and torque performance. Secondly, sales of new ICE powertrain vehicles in Europe are set to continue indefinitely beyond the 2035 emissions threshold as long as they burn carbon neutral fuels.
Now Texas’s InnoVent Renewables has announced its arrival with a mission to drive renewable energy forward by mitigating the global environmental challenge of waste tires. The company want to deploy a proprietary continuous pyrolysis technology that converts waste tires, plastics and biomass into valuable fuels and chemicals.
It says each year more than a billion tires are disposed of globally and North America alone accounts for some 10% of these. Naturally, vehicle tires take a very long time to decompose on their own adding to health issues including the fostering of mosquitos and other pests, water borne diseases and toxic chemical leaching into soil. The other disposal option of burning tires in pits or cement kilns is even more hazardous because of the toxic emissions in the local air.
InnoVent Renewables says its exclusive pyrolysis technology is unique in that it’s continuous, which is a much higher efficiency compared to batch processing. It employs the gas to preheat the tires, thereby making it a Net Zero energy process. During the process valuable chemicals are recovered from the products, producing high quality fuels. With current operations in Houston, Pune (India) and Monterrey (Mexico), the company has growth plans across North America and Latin America, with future expansion opportunities in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
CEO Vibhu Sharm, said: “Our investors, strategic advisors, and management team are all fully committed to our success as we address the global challenge of waste tires. We firmly believe our proven process, deployed at scale globally, will have a huge positive impact on our climate and fill a clear environmental need.”
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_ and Threads
