Italian company Directa Plus has received a patent through the Chinese Patent Office for tyre technology that they say will lower rolling resistance as well as increase grip.
In most motorcycle and automobile tyres, rolling resistance and grip are at odds. Tyre companies usually improve one quality at the sake of the other.
However, Directa Plus says the patent will cover the formula which unlocks the potential of the G+ technology for the tread component, enabling manufacturers to balance the conflicting properties of rolling resistance and grip while enhancing both.
That will allow companies to choose how much rolling resistance they want to improve fuel economy and also grip for safety.
Directa Plus Founder and CEO Giulio Cesareo says their G+ graphene technology also has “a lower carbon footprint than existing technologies as a result of our sustainable and non-toxic production process”.
It can be used on motorcycles, bicycles, cars, truck and bus radial tyres.
The patent is their sixth with the Chinese Patent Office.
“The grant of a Chinese patent for our G+ technology in tyres is a first step towards exploiting China’s large and growing market for elastomeric compounds for tyres,” Giulio says.
Global market research and consulting company TechSci Research estimated China’s tyre market was worth about $A40 billion ($US28b) in 2018 and forecast the market to grow at a compound annual rate of over 10% to reach $A75b ($US52b) by 2023.