We may not have told you about dandelion tires in our article on the history of rubber, but we did tell you all about the source of this natural raw material. Traditionally, latex is harvested from the hevea tree, commonly known as the “rubber tree”, we’ll let you guess why. Although synthetic alternatives exist, it is often a mixture of artificial and natural gums that offer the best result.
As a result, the rubber tree has become a monoculture that already monopolizes a lot of plantation space around the world, nearly 120,000 km 2 to be precise. With a growing global demand, rubber producing countries are struggling to meet everyone’s needs. Fortunately, Continental is here to help the industry with its dandelion farms!
Taraxagum, a new latex
The name of the new type of rubber was well chosen: Taraxagum. Indeed, it is from taraxacum kosaghyz, or Russian dandelion, that its latex is made! It is a much less demanding plant than the rubber tree. While the former takes up to 7 years to offer its first harvest of sap, the dandelion takes only one year, and the compound found in its roots is almost identical.
In fact, some researchers say that it would offer more robustness and elasticity than traditional latex. It would also allow rubber cultivation to spread to other temperate regions. This would likely reduce the distance traveled from the rubber farms to the processing plant, helping to reduce the CO2 emissions of the process.
Dandelion tires in test phase since 2014
The project is far from new at Continental. Indeed, the first tests on winter tires took place in 2014 in Germany and Sweden. A special version of the chosen model, the WinterContact TS 850 P, was made from rubber produced entirely from dandelion latex. They were appreciated for their superior road holding and handling! As you can see, the ones sold on Blackcircles.ca are not yet equipped with this technology…
The TS850 P are not the only Continental winter tires worth mentioning. Even if they have not been tested with the taraxgum, we must mention the Conticrosscontact Winter line. Designed for SUVs, crossovers and vans, they have one of the best quality/price ratios in their category. The Wintercontact line also includes the TS860 S, an improved version of the TS850 P, which offers the ultimate winter experience. If your budget allows it, they are probably among my favorites built by Continental!
