Why Russian Dandelions Are The Next Big Thing In Tyres

Dandelions - the garden puff balls you blew on as a kid - will be used in the future manufacture of production Continental tyres. Apparently, the plant has rubber in its roots that can be extracted and used in conjunction with the 40+ other materials that are needed.

But why dandelions? The answer is ‘sustainability’. The current procedure to extract rubber as a raw material involves tapping rubber trees that are typically found in places like Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador. These locations are susceptible to weather changes, which could decrease the amount of rubber that is harvested. Dandelions, by contrast, can be harvested all over the world, can be checked regularly and are less weather-dependant. Logistics costs with dandelions are also reduced, as are the CO2 emissions that go into transportation.

But not any dandelion can be used. The only variant that’s suitable is the Russian dandelion (or Taraxacum koksag-hyz to give it its botanical name), which is particularly robust (because Russia) and which offers a higher yield.

Continental is currently testing its new Taraxagum tyres and hopes to have these in production in around five to 10 years. Taraxagum tyres won’t replace rubber trees, but will ease the dependance on them, acting more as a ‘balancing tool’.

In the future, dandelions could be made into über rubber-producers; cross breeding between other plants (as people do with roses, vegetables and fruits) could make the dandelions bigger and more productive. Genetically modifying the plant is out of the question.

So there you have it. Dandelions will be used in a set of Conti tyres you might buy in the future. Until that day, keep blowing the hell out of them!