DHL tests airless and flat-less car tires
The French tire manufacturer Michelin wants to equip around 50 DHL delivery vehicles with airless and puncture-proof car tires by the end of 2023. With the Michelin Uptis, punctures and debris will be a thing of the past.
No more flat tires: tire manufacturer Michelin and parcel service DHL have joined forces to achieve this goal. The magic word is Uptis: Michelin’s airless and puncture-proof tyre.
The company plans to equip around 50 DHL delivery vehicles in Singapore with it by the end of 2023. This was announced by Michelin in an official press release with.
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Michelin Uptis: These are the airless and unflatable car tires
The first vans in the pilot program started on January 10, 2023. If the test with the 50 DHL vehicles delivers positive results, the Uptis tire should go into series production.
Michelin’s supposedly indestructible Uptis is a wheel and tire combination that does not require air pressure. It was specially designed for passenger cars and vans. The bike is also robust thanks to a flexible support structure.
This is how the Uptis airless car tire works
Nevertheless, it still guarantees driving comfort and safety, according to the manufacturer. Drivers should also not have to worry about the effects of road conditions on the tires while driving.
In addition, punctures should be minimized. The number of tires that have to be disposed of due to damage is also to be reduced. The new technology should also minimize tire changes.
DHL for more environmental friendliness
In order to advance DHL’s sustainability efforts, 80 vans with electric drives are already on the road. “The cooperation with Michelin is another milestone on the way to an environmentally friendly operation in the last mile,” said Christopher Ong, Managing Director at DHL Express Singapore.
The use of the Uptis tires is also a step towards achieving net-zero emissions across the entire DHL network worldwide, Ong continued.
Michelin wants to produce fully sustainable car tires
Airless technology is key to Michelin’s vision of a fully sustainable tire. The company wants to achieve this goal by 2050, according to the official announcement.
Around 20 percent of tires are currently disposed of prematurely, 12 percent of them due to punctures and 8 percent due to irregular wear caused by under-inflation.
The use of the new technology should prevent the premature disposal of 200 million tires a year worldwide, or two million tons of material. This saving in material would be equivalent to the weight of 200 Eiffel Towers.
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