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Pirelli, Pyrum, Synthos, and BASF Join Forces to Transform Waste Tires into Recycled Materials

Plastmatch Global Digest 2026-07-23 11:52:10

The project collects end-of-life and waste tires across Germany, sourcing them from Driver retail stores, various motorsport events, and the Pirelli Breuberg plant as raw materials for the integrated recycling process.

Pyrum uses a pyrolysis process to convert tires into recovered carbon black (rCB) and tire pyrolysis oil (TPO); after being upgraded in quality, the recovered carbon black partially replaces virgin carbon black in production at Pirelli’s European plants.

Pyrolysis oil derived from waste tires is supplied to BASF and co-fed with fossil feedstocks for the production of chemicals such as butadiene and styrene; under a mass balance approach, the recycled feedstock attributes are allocated to the Ccycled® product portfolio certified under ISCC PLUS.

Synthos uses Ccycled® feedstock to produce ISCC PLUS-certified synthetic rubber suitable for high-performance tires, which is then supplied again to Pirelli for manufacturing, completing a closed material recycling loop.

Project Overview

Pirelli, Pyrum, Synthos, and BASF are jointly promoting the "tire-to-tire" circular economy project in Europe, establishing an industrial ecosystem to enhance the application scale of recycled materials from discarded tires.

Raw Material Recycling Channel

The project collects end-of-life tires across Germany, with sources including Driver tire retail stores and waste tires from motorsport events, while also accepting waste tires generated by Pirelli’s Breuberg plant, and channels them into the processing chain to maximize the intrinsic value of the waste materials.

Processing Flow and Material Flow Direction

Pyrum uses pyrolysis technology to process end-of-life tires, producing recovered carbon black (rCB) and tire pyrolysis oil (TPO); after quality upgrading, the recovered carbon black is supplied directly to Pirelli’s production sites in Europe, replacing part of the virgin carbon black.

Chemical Conversion and Certification System

The tire pyrolysis oil is delivered to BASF and used together with fossil raw materials as feedstock to produce chemical raw materials such as butadiene and styrene. The project employs a mass balance approach to account for the recycled components, granting the relevant products ISCC PLUS certification, and categorizing them under the Ccycled® product line.

Synthetic rubber production, closed-loop implementation

Synthos uses Ccycled® recycled feedstock to produce ISCC PLUS-certified synthetic rubber for high-performance tires. Pirelli then reintroduces this synthetic rubber into its tire production line, completing a full material loop.

Project Strategic Objectives

The four parties involved stated that this industrial ecosystem requires each side to leverage its complementary technological strengths to complete the recycling, conversion, and reuse of waste tires. The project aims to maximize the value of waste materials and establish a complete and practical circular solution for “remanufacturing new tires from recycled tires.”

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Pirelli, Pyrum, Synthos, and BASF Join Forces to Transform Waste Tires into Recycled Materials

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