The 2026 Tire Technology International Awards is the world’s biggest celebration of endeavor in tire development and manufacturing. Which covers all aspects of the modern tire business, with awards covering 11 categories. Technologies and achievements revealed since the start of March 2025 are eligible for consideration for the 2026 awards.
The Shortlist
ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR – TIRE DESIGN
- Bridgestone – TBR tire produced with 70% recycled and renewable content
- CEAT – SustainMax-VF tire
- Continental – Conti Urban HA 5 NXT
- Michelin – Car tire with 75% renewable and recycled materials
- Pirelli – P Zero (with 70% bio-based and recycled materials)
ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR – MANUFACTURING
- Color Service – Automatic depalletizing and AI handling robot for chemicals weighing systems
- Comerio Ercole – Celemetry
- Continental – Reduction of freshwater use
- Michelin Specialty Materials Recovery (MSMR) plant in Chile
- VMI – Batch-Off Closed Air Circulation
ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR – INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION
- Bekaert – Steel tire reinforcement certification of recycled content
- Bridgestone World Solar Challenge tire
- Continental – Expansion GIZ Project
- Endurica – Advancing tire retreading through oxidation science and predictive modeling
- Michelin – BioButterfly project
- Solvay – Circular highly dispersible silica global industrialization
2025 Winners
ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR – TIRE DESIGN
WINNER: Goodyear for its ElectricDrive Sustainable-Material (EDS) tire, which represents a significant milestone in Goodyear’s journey toward a more sustainable future.
Shortlisted:
Bridgestone – Potenza Sport A
Falken – Ziex ZE320
Goodyear – ElectricDrive Sustainable-Material (EDS) tire
Michelin – Motorsport tire demonstrator
Pirelli – P Zero Winter 2
ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR – MANUFACTURING
WINNER: Continental for the company’s achievements at its Lousado plant in Portugal.
Shortlisted:
The BioButterfly demonstration plant
ColorService – Anti-Dust Kit and Cyclone
Continental – CO2-neutral production at LousadoFirestone Liberia
HF Group – Electric curing
Rodolfo Comerio TIElemetry
ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR – INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION
WINNER: Nokian Tyres. In 2024, the tire maker inaugurated the world’s first full-scale tire factory with zero CO2 emissions. The new facility, in Oradea, Romania, operates without the need for any fossil energy.
Shortlisted:
Hankook production using certified carbon black
Michelin – SAMPLE system
Nokian inaugurates zero-CO2 -emission factory in Romania
VMI – LAT100 Dynamic Abrasion Test
MATERIALS INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Bekaert for Mega Tensile – a next-generation reinforcement solution that offers a range of sustainability benefits.
Shortlisted:
Bekaert – Mega Tensile
Continental – Re.Tex roll-out
Reselo and Nokian Tyres – Reselo biorubber
Silox – ActiECO+ Green
R&D BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Sumitomo Rubber Industries for its Active Tread technology, which switches the mechanical properties of the tread compound based on changes in road conditions.
Shortlisted:
Continental – Rolling resistance-optimized rubber compound in Conti EfficientPro 5
Dufournier – Tire Performance Database
Endurica/ARDL coupled structural simulation
Michelin – SmartWear
SRI – Active Tread
Yokohama – XAI tire design support system
TIRE INDUSTRY SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
WINNER: ARP Technologies, for its many innovations in the tire curing sector, including servomotor-driven manipulators, new insulation technologies, automated AGV-based mold exchange and automatic bladder exchange technology.
Shortlisted:
ARP Technologies
Bekaert
Black Donuts Engineering
Comerio Ercole
Rodolfo Comerio
Uzer Makina
VMI
TIRE MANUFACTURING INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
WINNER: VMI. Jurors were impressed by the company’s integrated quality monitoring for the MAXX and MILEXX platforms – a full drum monitoring system for the carcass package.
Shortlisted:
Comerio Ercole – SuperCut: cutting unit for rubberized calendering process
Continental – Otrokovice warehouse
Rodolfo Comerio – RC Advanced Cut and Ultimate Winding
VMI – Integrated quality monitoring for MAXX and MILEXX platforms
TIRE CONCEPT OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Bridgestone for its Lunar concept tire, an impressive combination of tire technologies designed for use in the most inhospitable of conditions.
Shortlisted:
Bridgestone – Lunar Concept
Continental – Conti Urban NXT
Galileo – SkidCup 2024
Nokian and UPM – sustainable concept tire
TIRE OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Michelin edging out the competition with its Primacy 5.
Shortlisted:
Apollo – Vredestein Ultrac+
Continental – Conti Eco Gen 5
Hankook – Ventus Evo
Michelin – Primacy 5
Toyo Tires – Proxes Sport 2
TIRE MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Continental – the fourth time the Hannover-based tire maker has won this category.
Shortlisted:
Bridgestone
Continental
Michelin
Nokian Tyres
Pirelli
SRI
Yokohama
