Michelin wants to produce a tire made from mostly recycled materials and it’s turning to Montreal-based Pyrowave to make it happen.
The goal is to have its tires made from 80 per cent recycled material within 30 years. Wednesday’s announcement comes after two years of negations between Pyrowave and the French giant.
“It’s fantastic because more than 20 million euros ($31 million) will be devoted to the industrialization of our platform,” said Jocelyn Doucet, Pyrowave’s co-founder and CEO.
The deal will see Pyrowave produce recycled styrene, a synthetic chemical used to make plastics, using existing products such as packaging and insulation boards.
This compound is then used in the making of synthetic rubber for tires, making it of interest to Michelin.
“This collaboration is a perfect illustration of the all-sustainable strategy (of Michelin),” said Florent Megenaux, Michelin’s president, in a press release.
Pyrowave, which was founded in 2014 and has around 15 employees, is expected to add around 10 over the next 18 months.
Pyrowave, which has already partnered with the City of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield to recover the polystyrene, will retain the rights to the intellectual property that has been developed in this area, according to Doucet.
The Quebec company has received $3.2 million in federal funding