Сontinental and Kordsa bring first-series tires with Cokoon immersion technology to the road
Continental, the premium tire manufacturer and technology company, and Kordsa, the global reinforcer primarily serving the tire industry, announced today that series production of the first of 250,000 passenger car tires with their new sustainable adhesive technology is now underway. in production. The two partners have been working together on this new eco-dipping technology since 2017.
This new technology allows the activation of the bonding of textile reinforcement materials with rubber compounds, without the use of resorcinol and formaldehyde in the textile immersion. Textile reinforcing materials are widely used in the manufacture of tires, as well as in the production of mechanical rubber items such as hoses and conveyor belts.
Since Cokoon's first announcement as an open innovation technology in March 2019, it has attracted a lot of attention within the industry. More than 40 companies (tire manufacturers, converters and textile suppliers) have expressed interest in testing the material and are considering joining the licensing group. About 20 of them have already received samples. All interested parties have been invited to join the pool and obtain free licenses to contribute to the development of this new green technology. The licensing group is run by the independent law firm AdvInno.
“The sampling process was a great success and exceeded our expectations. Industry feedback encouraged us to continue integrating Cokoon into our tires and to begin serial production of the first tires in 2019. Expanding the use of Cokoon technology in our tire production is a high priority for us in 2020 and in the following years, ”says Dr. Andreas Topp, vice president for development and industrialization of materials and processes at Continental Tires.
Devrim Özaydin, Kordsa's Global CTO, describes the underlying idea: “With Cokoon, we want to implement a green industry standard for joining textiles and rubber. Therefore, we invite all interested parties to join the group, obtain free licenses, contribute to the improvement of this new open technology and introduce Cokoon in its mass production. "
Eco-friendly resorcinol and formaldehyde-free adhesion technology.
Cokoon is the brand name for a new bonding system technology that is offered to all other tire manufacturers and their suppliers as an open source solution. Development partners Continental and Kordsa have chosen to waive development fees or licenses. In return, they expect licensees to make their patents on further enhancement of this technology available to other partners for free through a pool of licenses. Interested companies can request samples.
Before Cokoon, the chemicals resorcinol and formaldehyde were irreplaceable in activating the bonding of textile reinforcing materials to the surrounding rubber matrix. Replacing resorcinol and formaldehyde with more environmentally friendly alternatives is beneficial not only for a sustainable supply chain, but also for tire cable manufacturers. It should be noted that tire plant employees and end consumers are not exposed to these substances as they are chemically altered through the vulcanization process. With Cokoon's dipping technology, the bonding of textiles to rubber is now possible without these two substances and the technology does not require any changes to the process equipment.