Pirelli, Pyrum, Synthos and BASF Launch Closed-Loop Initiative for Recycled Tyre Materials

According to company reports, Pirelli, Pyrum, Synthos and BASF have formed a partnership to establish a tyre-to-tyre circular economy system in Europe, aiming to increase the use of recycled materials recovered from end-of-life and production scrap tyres in the manufacture of new tyres.

The collaboration integrates collection, recycling, chemical processing and material manufacturing into a certified industrial value chain. End-of-life tyres collected across Germany, including tyres from selected Driver retail outlets, motorsport activities and production scrap from Pirelli's Breuberg manufacturing plant, will be processed into secondary raw materials for reuse in new tyre production.

The project is designed to create a traceable circular supply chain using ISCC PLUS certification, enabling recycled materials to be tracked throughout the production process while meeting quality and performance requirements for high-performance tyres.

Under the partnership, Pyrum processes end-of-life and scrap tyres through pyrolysis, a thermal treatment carried out in the absence of oxygen. The process produces two key recycled materials: recovered carbon black (rCB) and tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO). The recovered carbon black is further refined before being supplied to Pirelli, where it partially replaces virgin carbon black in tyre manufacturing.

The tyre pyrolysis oil is delivered to BASF, which uses it as an alternative feedstock alongside fossil-based raw materials to produce chemical intermediates such as butadiene and styrene. Through BASF's Ccycled® mass balance approach, the recycled content is allocated to ISCC PLUS-certified chemical products without altering existing production processes.

Synthos then uses these certified circular feedstocks to manufacture ISCC PLUS-certified synthetic rubber for high-performance tyre applications. The recycled synthetic rubber is subsequently supplied back to Pirelli for incorporation into new tyres, completing the material loop.

The companies said the initiative demonstrates how collaboration across multiple stages of the value chain can enable large-scale circularity in tyre manufacturing. By combining expertise in tyre production, recycling technology, chemical processing and synthetic rubber manufacturing, the partners aim to maximize the recovery and reuse of valuable materials that would otherwise be lost.

The project represents one of the most comprehensive tyre-to-tyre recycling systems developed in Europe to date, illustrating how certified recycled materials can be reintegrated into commercial tyre production through a coordinated industrial ecosystem.

Source: BASF

SUNSHINE Spotlight: The partnership demonstrates how cross-industry collaboration and certified material traceability can help scale tyre-to-tyre recycling, reducing reliance on virgin raw materials while strengthening circular supply chains in the European tyre industry.