Back in 2011 it was reported that Continental was putting it’s considerable weight behind a research consortium who were looking at the possibility of creating marketable rubber products from a Dandelion extract after researchers at the University of Munster found that a Russian variety of the flower produced a gum elastic of equal quality to rubber tree latex. The rubber substance is located within the white Dandelion sap, and after an extensive study of various varieties they have determined that only the Russian variety of the weed is suitable for rubber production.
Since then Continental have been working closely with scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME who have now made a significant breakthrough in both the cultivation and production engineering of the raw material.
Thanks to this amazing breakthrough Continental are now working on building the first ever pilot system, in order to allow them to extract the large quantities of Dandelion rubber that will be required to makes tyres.
Over the next five years it is hoped that they will be able to develop the whole production process so that they can manufacture tyres from Dandelion rubber, and a pilot facility in Munster has already been built in order to produce this type of natural rubber by the ton.
In order to optimise rubber yield, researchers have been working on cultivating several hectares of a new lab grown variety of the Russian Dandelion, and it is hoped that the first sets of Dandelion rubber products will be tested on public roads in the next few years.
Another benefit of this new source of rubber is that it can be grown in large quantities in Europe and harvested more cost effectively than the rubber tree latex currently produced in sub tropical countries. It should allow Continental to have a home grown, sustainable source of rubber which could even be grown on land which is not currently suitable to produce agricultural crops, allowing for better utilisation of available agricultural land
