The Problem 

Today, over a million tonnes of tyre wear particles are produced annually across Europe. It is the second-largest microplastics pollutant in our oceans, toxic to marine life, and a significant source of air PM pollution, impacting air quality. This problem gets worse with electric vehicles from the added battery weight and torque. New regulation on tyre wear has been implemented. Without capturing tyre wear, transport will never reach zero-emissions. 

The Solution 

The Tyre Collective is developing the first on-vehicle device to capture tyre wear at the source. Our patent-pending technology uses electrostatics and airflow to capture this stealth pollutant. Captured particles can be upcycled into various applications, creating a closed-loop system. We also work with researchers to fill knowledge gaps for future policy. 

The Tyre Collective’s Impact

“We have completed 2 on-vehicle trials, one with Volvo Cars and CEVT and a London logistics operator, successfully capturing a high purity of tyre wear and non-exhaust emissions, validating our core technology.”

 – Hanson Cheng, Co-Founder, CEO  

Why we invested

Around one third of the microplastics emissions come from tyre wear, and the amount of microplastic pollution from this source is increasing as fleet electrification happens, given that such vehicles are categorically heavier and have operation patterns that wear tyres faster. This problem is becoming better understood and addressed by regulatory bodies around the globe, but ways to solve it have been limited. 

The Tyre Collective is working to be in the right place at the right time as regulations come into place to dramatically reduce microplastics emissions from the transport sector, but their traction indicates that there is already consumer demand and interest from industrial players to implement their solution today.

Join The Tyre Collective at Katapult Climate Investor Day on 6th December, sign up here.