Rhodia responds to new EU regulations on tires with Zeosil® Premium

IAA, Frankfurt – September 15, 2009 –. Zeosil® Premium, Rhodia’s new generation of high-surface silica, adds a further reduction in rolling resistance of approximately 10%. This technology offers tire manufacturers an optimized performance balance and helps them to meet the upcoming European regulatory requirements which promote the development of more energy-efficient tires.

"Using our new Zeosil® Premium silica will help tire-makers comply with the new regulatory requirements. It will also boost more widespread use of energy efficient tires, and consequently help reduce CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere", said Peter Browning, Director of Rhodia’ Silica activity.

In July, the European Parliament and the European Council signed a regulation (CE 661/2009) which mandates lower limits for rolling resistance as well as other key parameters such as wet grip performance. A regulation draft (COM 2009/348) on the energy-performance labeling of tires was also adopted by the Parliament in April, addressing fuel efficiency and CO₂ emission issues in particular. Such labeling should come into force from November 2012.

Invented in the 1990’s by Rhodia, high performance silica is a key-ingredient in energy-efficient tires. Previous generations of silica already reduced rolling resistance by 25%, resulting in an estimated 5% reduction in fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by vehicles.

Reader enquiries