Press Release
Continental trials first car tires with Taraxagum
dandelion-rubber tread
 Performance of the WinterContact TS 850 P will be tested on the company’s own
test sites, the Contidrom, north of Hanover, and in Arvidsjaur, Sweden
 Continental has pulled together all the information about the milestones of this
pioneering research project at www.taraxagum.de
Hanover, October 2014. The leading international tire manufacturer has reached an important
milestone in its research project for the industrialization of dandelion rubber in tire production. At
the ContiWinterRoadshow 2014, Continental presented the first test tires made from the
innovative material that the company is calling Taraxagum™, derived from the botanical name
for the dandelion (taraxacum). Manufacture of the first WinterContact TS 850 P with natural
rubber from dandelion roots has taken Continental an important step closer to reaching its longterm goal of making tire production more sustainable and less dependent on traditional raw
materials.
“After several years of intensive development work together with the Fraunhofer Institute, we
are excited to be taking the first dandelion tires onto the road,” said Nikolai Setzer, Member of
the Executive Board of Continental responsible for the Tires Division. “To get the most
meaningful test results from the crop yield produced by our research project to date, we decided
to build winter tires, as they contain a particularly high proportion of natural rubber. Our goal
remains to develop tires based on dandelion rubber to readiness for series production within the
next five to ten years.” Continental has the Contidrom proving grounds north of Hanover at its
disposal for extensive tests under summer conditions. However, the characteristics of these first
winter tires with dandelion rubber tread will be tested at Continental’s test site in Arvidsjaur,
Sweden, where the Company traditionally tests its future products under winter conditions from
December to April.
“The development process of Taraxagum™ has been very promising so far and we are
currently continuing the industrialization process together with our partners. We are very
confident that the results achieved with the test tires to date will be confirmed, and that we will
Your contact
Klaus Engelhart, Phone: + 49 (0) 511 938 2285
Press Release
meet our performance targets,” added Dr. Andreas Topp, Head of Material and Process
Development and Industrialization for Tires at Continental. A very high-yield and robust kind of
Russian dandelion has been cultivated as a result of extensive research carried out over recent
years together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME),
the Julius Kühn Institute, and the plant breeding company Aeskulap.
The research project’s long-term goal is to find an ecologically, economically and socially
viable solution for the increasing demand for natural rubber. This would ease the pressure on
the traditional rubber tree plantations in the tropics. Additionally, the aim is to reduce
dependency on natural rubber which can be subject to severe price fluctuations on the
commodities exchanges. Moreover, cultivating dandelion crops on previously unused land in
temperate regions throughout Europe, which are therefore also close to Continental’s
European tire plants, should also reduce the outlay for logistics and the burden on the
environment.
The dandelion-based rubber called Taraxagum™ obtained from the root of the Russian
dandelion is a joint development by Continental, the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology
and Applied Ecology (IME), the Julius Kühn Institute, and the plant breeder Aeskulap GmbH. It
represents an alternative to the traditional cultivation of natural rubber. The plan is for this
innovative material to make an important contribution to meeting the growing global demand
for natural rubber in a sustainable way, and to reducing the volatility of the natural rubber
market.
The development project also includes projects funded by the German Federal Ministry for
Education and Research, Nutrition and Agriculture. In May 2014, the dandelion rubber project
was honored with the prestigious European “GreenTec Award”, an environmental and
business prize, in the “Automobility” category. Continental recently presented the case study
“We develop sustainability” on current goals, trends and successes in tire development. Like
all the information on the topic of dandelion rubber published so far, the study can be found at
www.taraxagum.de.
Your contact
Klaus Engelhart, Phone: + 49 (0) 511 938 2285
Press Release
Continental AG
As a supplier of tires, technical elastomer products, brake systems, powertrain and chassis systems
and components, instrumentation, infotainment solutions and vehicle electronics, Continental helps to
make driving safer and protect the global climate. Continental is also an expert partner in automotive
connectivity. Continental currently employs over 186,000 people in 49 countries. With sales of around
€33.3 billion in 2013, Continental is one of the world’s leading tire manufacturers, automotive suppliers
and industrial partners.
www.continental-corporation.de
Tire Division
The Tire Division currently has 24 production and development locations worldwide. The broad
product range and continuous investments in R&D make a major contribution to cost-effective and
ecologically efficient mobility. As one of the world's leading tire manufacturers with more than 44,000
employees, the Tire Division achieved sales of €9.6 billion in 2013.
Passenger and Light Truck Tires
Continental is one of the leading manufacturers of passenger and light truck tires in Europe and the
world's fourth largest passenger tire manufacturer in the original equipment and replacement market.
The product development focus of the Continental premium brand is to optimize all safety-relevant
characteristics, while simultaneously minimizing rolling resistance.
www.continental-reifen.de
Sponsorship
Continental's Tire division is an official sponsor of the German DFB Cup, Major League Soccer in the
US and Canada, the 2015 Asia Cup in Australia and UEFA EURO 2016TM in France.
www.ContiSoccerWorld.de
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Contact:
Alexander Bahlmann
Head of PR, Passenger and Light Truck Tires
Continental AG
Tire division
Büttnerstrasse 25, 30165 Hanover, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 511 938 2615
Fax:
+49 (0) 511 938 2455
alexander.bahlmann@conti.de
www.continental-reifen.de
Your contact
Klaus Engelhart, Phone: + 49 (0) 511 938 2285
Klaus Engelhart
Press Spokesman, Passenger and Light Truck/TwoWheel Tires
Germany/Austria/Switzerland
Continental AG
Tire division
Büttnerstrasse 25, 30165 Hanover, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 511 938 2285
Fax:
+49 (0) 511 938 2455
klaus.engelhart@conti.de