White carbon black: the hidden champion of green tires

Driven by the dual goals of new energy vehicles and carbon neutrality, the tire industry is undergoing a silent revolution - traditional carbon black reinforcing agents are gradually being replaced by white carbon black. This seemingly ordinary white powder is actually a key material for reducing rolling resistance and improving fuel economy. Taking Michelin's "Energy Saver" series as an example, its tread rubber contains up to 60% white carbon black, combined with silane coupling agent, which reduces tire rolling resistance by 30% and improves fuel efficiency by 5%.


The technological breakthrough lies in the preparation of highly dispersed white carbon black. Traditional precipitation method products are difficult to penetrate into the rubber network due to agglomeration issues, while gas-phase white carbon black has excellent performance but high cost. In recent years, domestic enterprises have developed a new precipitated silica with particle size<30nm and dispersion>95% by combining the sol gel method with the chemical crystal method, which can reduce the cost by 40% while maintaining the performance. In 2024, China's high dispersion white carbon black production capacity will exceed 800000 tons, accounting for 35% of the global market share and becoming the world's largest supplier.


This transformation is not only about environmental protection, but also about reshaping the industrial landscape. Tire giant Goodyear has formed a strategic partnership with white carbon black manufacturer Yingchuang Da to jointly develop "zero rolling resistance" tires; BYD and other new energy vehicle companies have included white carbon black in their supply chain core material list. It is predicted that by 2030, the demand for white carbon black in the global green tire market will reach 2 million tons, with a compound annual growth rate of over 12%.