Orion Engineered Carbons, a specialty chemicals company, reached a significant sustainability milestone, becoming the first to achieve International Sustainability and Carbon Certifications (ISCC Plus) for multiple carbon black grades made from different feedstocks at plants in two regions of the world. 

The ISCC PLUS certification involved rigorous audits of Orion’s plants and processes that confirmed the company’s compliance with high sustainability requirements. It also verified the transparency and traceability of sustainable raw materials in the company’s value chain at three plants producing the concerned grades of carbon black. 

“The globally recognised certification further strengthens Orion’s position as the leader in our industry for developing sustainable solutions for our tire, mechanical rubber goods and specialty customers,” said Corning Painter, Orion’s CEO. “Earning the certification is a major achievement for commercialising our portfolio of sustainable products. ISCC PLUS documents to our customers that Orion continues to progress with innovation focused on sustainability.”

The ISCC PLUS certified products include the ECORAX Circular grades produced in Borger, Texas, and Belpre, Ohio, using pyrolysis oils from end-of-life tyres. Also covered is ECORAX Nature 200, produced in Jaslo, Poland, and based on bio-circular feedstocks.

Significantly, the certified products are similar to conventional grades and are “drop-ins” that require minimal reformulation in the complex rubber compounds used by our major tire manufacturing customers.

“No other company is making multiple grades of sustainable carbon black with different feedstocks at multiple plants across the world,” Painter added. “Introducing a broad range of products that can be used in highly demanding tire applications using such materials is a critical step to enable the transition to a circular economy for tyres.”

A decade ago, Orion was the first major producer to develop and commercialise carbon black made from renewable feedstocks, such as industrial-grade vegetable oils or other oils derived from waste and residues of biological origin from agriculture or forestry.

Orion is also the only carbon black producer in the BlackCycle initiative, an EU-funded project focused on developing the production of circular carbon black.

“Our customers have shown a tremendous amount of interest in our sustainable products,” said Pedro Riveros, senior vice president for global rubber carbon black and general manager for the Americas. “Several companies have made very public statements about achieving fully sustainable raw materials by 2050, or earlier. Since rubber and carbon black are the largest raw materials in rubber compounds, replacing conventional carbon blacks with our sustainable products will largely contribute to the achievement of these commitments.”

Carbon black makes up about 30 percent of a typical tyre by weight. The material reinforces tires, making treads more resistant to tearing, cutting, abrasion and other wear. Carbon black also plays an important role in creating tires with lower rolling resistance, which leads to increased fuel efficiency. It also enables engineers to fine-tune performance and protects tires from the damaging effects of UV light.

The ISCC PLUS certification is granted by the ISCC Association, based in Cologne, Germany, and promotes the sustainable production of biomass, circular and bio-based materials and renewables.

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Vipal Rubber, a leading global producer of retreading rubber, has reaffirmed its commitment to innovation with the launch of its new V SUPER HYBRID technology. Available from 1 March 2025, this new compound is designed to redefine performance standards for mixed-terrain applications, offering enhanced mileage, durability and resistance for retreaded tyres across various fleet sizes.

The V SUPER HYBRID achieves a superior balance between on-road and off-road performance. It has proven effective in demanding sectors such as logging, grain and livestock transport, demonstrating robust capabilities across diverse operating conditions. Key advantages of the innovation include improved resistance to chipping and punctures, enhanced casing protection that extends tyre service life, lower environmental impact through increased tread utilisation and significant operational cost savings for fleet operators.

Field tests substantiate these claims. In one trial involving a high-torque truck on steep, unpaved terrain, tyres with V SUPER HYBRID technology showed an 11.5 percent increase in mileage over a standard market compound while maintaining structural integrity with no signs of breakage. Furthermore, the same technology demonstrated the potential for up to a 140 percent mileage increase over conventional compounds in continued testing. The tread's regular wear pattern also allowed for better depth utilisation, enabling tyres to remain in operation down to 5-6 mm, compared to the previous limit of 12 mm. Another test with a grain and livestock truck confirmed these results, documenting a 12.5 percent performance gain across different tread designs.

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Kuraray Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Kuraray Co., Ltd., has inaugurated the Kuraray Asia Pacific Centre in Singapore's Science Park. This new facility will function as a dedicated technical support hub for the Asian market. Its primary focus will be on providing specialised expertise for growing regional demand in PVOH resin, EVAL EVOH resin and activated carbon products.

Equipped with advanced material evaluation and analysis laboratories, the centre is designed to deliver prompt and tailored solutions to meet specific local customer requirements. It will also act as a platform for open innovation, fostering collaborative development and product demonstrations to generate new value.

By establishing itself within the concentrated research environment of the Singapore Science Park, the centre aims to accelerate market development and attract global talent through strategic partnerships. This initiative is a key part of the Kuraray Group's strategy to address emerging customer needs, explore new applications and strengthen its overall business expansion throughout the region.

Lim Wey-Len, Executive Vice President, Singapore Economic Development Board, said during the opening ceremony on 1 September: “We welcome Kuraray and other like-minded companies to leverage Singapore’s innovation ecosystem, talent pool, and regional connectivity to scale impactful and sustainable solutions from here.”

Tomoyuki Watanabe, Director and Managing Executive Officer, and President of the Vinyl Acetate Resin Company at Kuraray, said, “By offering a place for co-creation with our customers, we hope to drive the rapid market growth in the region.”

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The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has released its Monthly NR Statistical Report for July 2025, providing an overview of key developments in the global natural rubber sector.

According to the report, natural rubber prices exhibited significant volatility in July. This instability was driven by a combination of adverse weather conditions impacting production, ongoing geopolitical tensions and international trade tariffs. After an initial phase of ample supply and muted demand, market sentiment shifted as concerns over potential supply disruptions prompted a notable increase in purchasing activity.

The report further projects a modest global production increase of 0.5 percent for 2025, while demand is anticipated to grow by a slightly higher 1.3 percent. However, this growth is expected against a challenging backdrop of a potential global economic slowdown. Complex US tariff policies and their widespread ripple effects are primary factors contributing to what may become one of the most subdued years for economic expansion since the pandemic.

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Continental is establishing a groundbreaking industrial process for recycling complex rubber waste through a strategic acquisition of key patents and the launch of a new pilot facility. This initiative, led by its ContiTech division, leverages advanced pyrolysis technology to transform end-of-life rubber products into valuable raw materials, creating a sustainable alternative to fossil resources.

The core of this innovation is a thermal decomposition process where waste rubber is heated in a low-oxygen environment. This breaks the material down into its core chemical constituents, one of which is a high-quality oil with properties mirroring traditional crude oil. This output is particularly significant as it can be directly used in the manufacture of new plastics and rubber goods, effectively closing the material loop.

A major historical obstacle for the industry has been the difficulty of recycling vulcanised rubber, whose altered chemical structure resists conventional separation methods. Pyrolysis successfully circumvents this challenge, cleanly decomposing the material to recover not only oil but also carbon black and other energy sources. The widespread adoption of pyrolysis has been hindered until now by the complexity of purifying its outputs to meet industrial standards. Continental’s new facility, originally developed by British start-up LowSulphurFuels, directly addresses this hurdle with a specialised purification process, making large-scale rubber recycling both technically feasible and economically attractive.

This advancement is especially critical for complex rubber products like composite hoses and specialised seals, which were previously nearly impossible to recycle efficiently. By converting this challenging waste stream into a high-grade resource, Continental is driving progress towards a circular economy. This move also reinforces the company's position as a leader in sustainable innovation, complementing its extensive patent portfolio and ongoing projects focused on material recovery and developing eco-friendly solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors.

Dr Michael Hofmann, Chief Technology Officer, ContiTech, said, “With this technology, we’re closing a crucial gap in the circular materials economy: we’re able to recover high-quality raw materials from rubber waste, which we can then feed back into the chemical material cycle to create new products without relying on crude oil. We’re thus demonstrating how innovation can become the driving force behind sustainable industrial processes – and how a previously untapped raw material cycle can be made economically viable.”

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