Highlights

• Zeon will develop BR and Yokohama will make tires with it

•  Facility to be installed at Zeon’s Tokuyama Plant in Shunan City in Japan

• Trial production scheduled for 2026 and mass production by 2030

In a joint bid to promote circular economy in the synthetic rubber spectrum, Zeon Corporation and Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. are set to establish a bench facility to demonstrate technology for producing butadiene from ethanol derived from plant-based and other sustainable materials with high efficiency.

The method, which will use a highly efficient catalyst, will be the first step in establishing the mass production of synthetic butadiene rubber (BR) from plant-based and other sustainable materials. Zeon defines bench facility as a large-scale facility to acquire the data necessary to transition to a continuous demonstration facility (pilot facility) for commercialization.

Zeon and Yokohama Rubber are working toward a goal of social implementation of two technologies that will enable the highly efficient production of butadiene and isoprene from plant-based and other sustainable materials in the 2030s. The butadiene and isoprene thus produced will supplement core chemicals used in synthetic rubber production, sourced from recycled rubber and tires.

This effort is part of a cooperative initiative led by Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the National University Corporation Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology), and the Japanese national research and development agency RIKEN.

Zeon will develop a prototype polybutadiene rubber (butadiene rubber) from the butadiene produced at the bench facility, and Yokohama Rubber will develop prototype tires using the butadiene rubber and conduct driving tests using the tires to collect data needed for a more large-scale demonstration of the technology.

Aligns with larger Japanese national R&D plan

The facility will be installed at Zeon’s Tokuyama Plant in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan and will begin operations in 2026. It will enable the production of a certain amount of butadiene and facilitate the collection of various data that will be used to establish mass production.

This initiative is aligned with one of the two R&D themes selected by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in 2022 for its project for the Development of Technology for Producing Raw Materials for Plastics Using CO2 and Other Sources, one of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Projects. NEDO is Japan’s national R&D agency for fostering industrial, energy, and environmental technologies necessary for a sustainable society. 

The Green Innovation Fund Project is a program established by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to accelerate innovation through structural transformation of energy and industrial sectors and firm investment toward achieving the national goal of "reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050."

The program provides a continuous ten-year support to companies and organizations that pursue this goal as a business commitment in the areas from research and development and demonstration to commercial implementation.

Zeon and Yokohama Rubber said they will continue to collaborate on projects that will make use of both companies’ wealth of technologies and know-how to promote a circular economy and carbon neutrality in the tire and rubber industries and help realize a sustainable society.

Model to predict rubber wear-rates on uneven roads

Meanwhile Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has announced that through joint research with Dr. Bo Nils Johan Persson, an expert in the study of rubber friction and contact, it has successfully developed the world’s first theoretical model to predict the rubber wear-rates on uneven road surfaces and the size distribution of wear particles. This research was selected as the most noteworthy item and featured in the February 21, 2025 edition of ‘The Journal of Chemical Physics’ published by the American Institute of Physics.

Dr. Persson is a researcher in the fields of contact, friction, wear, and lubrication, including rubber friction. He works at Peter Grünberg Institute (Germany) and Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (China) and runs Multiscale Consulting (Germany) that supports companies in the rubber industry and beyond in addressing various challenges. Dr. Persson’s unique approach to contact mechanics and rubber friction has been documented in numerous peer-reviewed academic journals.

Meeting tire sustainability for EVs

Yokohama Rubber-Multiscale Consulting collaboration led to the development of the theoretical model for multiscale (ranging from nanometer to centimeter levels) rubber wear behavior on uneven road surfaces, for which theorization had been difficult in the past.

Experiments measuring rubber wear behavior when sliding in both dry and wet conditions at different contact pressures and sliding speeds showed that the theoretical model’s predictions of wear-rates (mass loss per unit of sliding distance) and size distribution of wear particles aligned closely with the experimental results, confirming that the model could be used for such predictions.

Going forward, Yokohama Rubber plans to continue conducting research with Dr. Persson and Multiscale Consulting to pursue the development of tires with high-level wear resistance. Additionally, the company aims to contribute to resolving environmental issues caused by tire wear, which is becoming increasingly important amid the increase in heavy electrified vehicles.

Under Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2024–2026) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), Yokohama Rubber is implementing technology and production strategies based on a motto of  “low cost, speedy development of quality products” that will strengthen the entire Yokohama Rubber Group.

As part of this initiative, the company said it is pursuing innovation in rubber material and tire design technologies, leveraging AI, and promoting joint research with universities, companies, and professional organizations.