The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., will continue to supply its ADVAN racing tyres as the control tyre for the Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship for the next several years from 2023. Yokohama Rubber has been the control tyre supplier for Super Formula since 2016. From 2023, the company plans to supply racing tyres made from sustainable materials. Development of these tires will begin this year. 

The supply of racing tyres made from sustainable materials will be carried out in support of the Super Formula Next50 (SF NEXT50) project. The SF NEXT50 project is being promoted with the cooperation of various companies that share the common goal of creating a sustainable motorsports industry by responding to changes in the environment surrounding the automobile and motorsports industries, including the promotion of SDGs and carbon neutrality, the company said in a statement. 

In its development of racing tyres for SF NEXT50, Yokohama Rubber plans to use various naturally derived compounding agents, such as silica produced from rice husks, oil from oil palm fruit nuts, and orange peels. Rubber recycled from scrap tires also will be used. Yokohama Rubber plans to use sustainable materials that will not negatively affect racing car performance. The tyres will be tested during trial runs of the future formula racing car that will be conducted by JRP before and after each Super Formula race this year, with development of the 2023 control tire scheduled to be completed by the end of the Super Formula season. Yokohama Rubber will continue its development of sustainable racing tyres after 2023, with the aim of supplying control tires in 2025 that have a sustainable material content ratio of 35% or more without any sacrifice in sports performance, the release said. 

Yoshihisa Ueno, President of Japan Race Promotion, said, “We have worked closely with Yokohama Rubber, Inc., over the past several years to take Super Formala to another level. We are extremely pleased to take on new challenges with them, as part of the SF NEXT50 project. As we work towards the realization of carbon neutral, while at the same time developing racing tyres that place less of a burden on the environment, and from the perspective of our ‘driver’s first’ initiative, we ponder the question “what is the best tire solution for one of the top races in the world?” We hope it will be a big step forward by developing sustainable racing tires for the future of motorsport, as well as for the automotive industry on a whole, and from a promoter’s perspective, we also strive to increase both the overall image and value of SUPER FORMULA.” 

Masataka Yamaishi, Yokohama Rubber President and Chairman of the Board, said, “In support of JRP's SF NEXT50 concept for sustainable motorsports activities, Yokohama Rubber will continue to supply the control tires for SUPER FORMULA races from 2023 while also continuing our effort to develop racing tires that use sustainable materials. We regard this ESG activity as one of our business activities aimed at maximizing the sales ratio of high value-added products in our consumer tire business. Yokohama Rubber will be expanding its use of renewable and recyclable raw materials in the future, with the aim of using those materials in our tires without sacrificing the vehicles driving performance. Toward that end, we look forward to supporting SUPER FORMULA, Japan’s penultimate race series, and to developing and testing tires under the extreme conditions typical in the races.” (TT) 

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

The Government of Kerala has approved the twelfth phase of the Rubber Production Incentive Scheme, extending support to natural rubber growers through a guaranteed price mechanism.

The scheme is designed to ensure a price of INR 250 per kilogram for RSS 4 grade sheet rubber. Growers who are not yet enrolled may register for the programme until 23 October 2026, according to an official statement issued on 6 August in Kottayam.

Applicants seeking new registration must submit an Aadhaar card, bank passbook copy, current year land tax receipt and a photograph to their respective Rubber Producers’ Societies. Existing participants are required to renew their registration by providing land tax receipts for the 2026–27 period.

The release added that sale invoices or purchase bills submitted under the scheme must originate from licensed dealers who comply with statutory return requirements. Further details are available through the nearest Rubber Board office.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

The Rubber Board of India has launched a series of educational videos as part of the iSPEED (INROAD Skilling and Production Efficiency Enhancement Drive) programme, an INR 1.50-billion initiative aimed at enhancing skill development, quality improvement and infrastructure building within the natural rubber sector. This launch comes as the plantation activities under the larger Project INROAD (Indian Natural Rubber Operations for Assisted Development) in Northeast India approach completion, shifting focus towards productivity and quality enhancement through modern training and facilities.

The newly released video series targets nearly 300,000 rubber growers in the region, covering five essential processing areas: Rubber Tapping, Rain Guarding, Grading, Rubber Sheet Making and Scientific Smokehouses. To ensure broad accessibility, the modules have been produced in Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam, enabling effective communication with diverse stakeholders across the natural rubber ecosystem.

The official release of the videos was conducted by Executive Director M Vasanthagesan, alongside Rubber Production Commissioner Dr Siju T Nair, other senior Board officials and representatives from the Indian tyre industry. Developed over the past year with technical assistance from the Rubber Board and the Rubber Research Institute of India, the educational content combines animation with real-life field demonstrations to simplify complex scientific practices for easy adoption.

Project INROAD represents a unique collaboration between the Indian tyre industry and the Rubber Board, with support from Apollo Tyres, CEAT, JK Tyre and MRF. Over the last five years, this partnership has facilitated new rubber plantations across approximately 180,000 hectares in 113 districts of Northeast India, establishing it as the country’s largest plantation development programme of its kind.

Mohan Kurian, Chairman, INROAD Project, said, "Skill development and adoption of scientific practices are essential for improving both productivity and quality in the natural rubber sector. These multilingual videos will serve as an effective training resource for growers and complement the Rubber Board's ongoing extension efforts across the country.”

Sanjiv Saxena, Convener, ATMA Supply Chain & Resources (SCR) Group, said, "The objective of the participating member companies under INROAD is to ensure that rubber growers benefit the most from a stronger natural rubber value chain. By improving productivity and quality, we aim to help farmers realise better returns while strengthening the sustainability of the entire ecosystem."

Muraligopal, who played a key role in coordinating the development of the videos, said, "These videos are the result of close collaboration with the Rubber Board, RRII and field teams across the Northeast. Their guidance and support helped us develop practical, farmer-friendly training modules based on scientific best practices."

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Zeon Corporation has finalised the construction of a new bench-scale facility at its Tokuyama Plant in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, dedicated to advancing the efficient production of butadiene from sustainable ethanol sources. The project, which broke ground in July 2025, represents a strategic move to establish a naphtha-independent raw material supply chain, thereby bolstering both corporate sustainability and the broader transition towards a carbon-neutral society. The facility is slated to commence full-scale operations in January 2027, with the ultimate goal of achieving commercial viability by 2034.

A commemorative ceremony took place at the plant site on 31 July 2026, drawing a total of 46 attendees. The gathering included official representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and local governmental bodies from Yamaguchi Prefecture and Shunan City. Also present were delegates from the Yokohama Rubber Company, the construction contractor and various affiliated firms, alongside Zeon’s leadership, including Akira Honma, the Corporate Officer and Tokuyama Plant Manager.

This initiative forms one half of a dual-themed research and development programme undertaken in partnership with Yokohama Rubber, under the auspices of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund. The collaborative effort is focused on the social implementation of technologies for synthesising both butadiene and isoprene from renewable biological materials by the 2030s. As part of this process, Zeon is set to produce a prototype polybutadiene rubber using the output from the new bench-scale facility, while Yokohama Rubber will subsequently manufacture test tyres from this material and conduct performance evaluations on test tracks.

Both companies have outlined a clear roadmap, intending to finalise the core technology for societal deployment by 2030 through the operation of a larger pilot plant, with full-scale commercialisation targeted for 2034. The bench-scale facility is a critical precursor in this phased approach, providing essential data for the scale-up process.

The broader project encompasses two selected NEDO themes, both subsidised through the Green Innovation Fund. The first involves the highly efficient synthesis of butadiene from ethanol, with technical cooperation from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The second focuses on biotechnological pathways to directly produce butadiene and isoprene from plant-based materials, involving partnerships with the Institute of Science Tokyo and RIKEN. Both tracks aim to supplement synthetic rubber feedstocks and support closed-loop recycling, aligning with Japan’s 2050 net-zero emissions goal by fostering long-term industrial innovation.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has released its Monthly Natural Rubber Statistical Report for June 2026, a month defined by price resilience amid conflicting market forces. The provisional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a sharp 20.29 percent drop in Brent crude oil prices to USD 85.40 per barrel. However, this bearish signal was counterbalanced by persistent supply constraints from El Niño-related weather disruptions across major producing regions.

Physical rubber prices posted broad-based gains across most grades. SMR-20 rose 1.39 percent to USD 2.32 per kilogramme, while STR-20 gained 2.61 percent to USD 2.55 per kilogramme. RSS-3 and RSS-4 advanced 4.98 percent and 5.88 percent to USD 3.09 and USD 2.84 per kilogramme, respectively, though latex eased 1.44 percent to USD 1.94 per kilogramme. On the trade front, China's imports surged 7.14 percent month-on-month, while India and Viet Nam declined. Export growth was recorded for Cambodia, Viet Nam and Indonesia, though Thai shipments contracted.

Global production for 2026 is projected at 15.310 million tonnes, up 2.3 percent from 2025, driven by gains in Thailand, China, India and Malaysia. However, June output fell 3.7 percent year-on-year to 1.207 million tonnes due to seasonal wintering and El Niño-related weather disruptions. Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia have introduced new incentive and governance measures to strengthen their sectors. Global consumption is forecast to grow 0.7 percent to 15.411 million tonnes in 2026, with June consumption rising 3.3 percent to 1.300 million tonnes, led by China and India amid steady tyre and EV-related demand.

Currency markets saw the Malaysian ringgit trade between RM3.96 and RM4.08 against the US dollar, while the Thai baht ranged from 32.56 to 33.24. In futures trading, the SHFE September 2026 contract averaged 17,580.68 CNY per tonne, down 0.45 percent month-on-month, while the SGX September contract averaged USD 2.24 per kilogramme, up 1.75 percent, with both reflecting tightening supply and firm downstream demand.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!