News
ENSO, the tire technology company that makes better tires for electric vehicles (EVs), has signed a Letter of Interest (LOI) with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (U.S. EXIM Bank) to establish a groundbreaking carbon-neutral tire factory in America. U.S.-based technology partners Rockwell, global sustainable development firm Arup and US-based investors 8090 Industries and Galway Sustainable Capital, are supporting ENSO.
The first-of-its-kind tire factory will be carbon-neutral without purchased offsets, utilizing carbon-neutral raw materials, building materials and 100% renewable energy. In its first phase, the factory will produce 5 million EV tires by 2027 and create 600 jobs, rising to 2,400 jobs when built out to full production capacity of 20 million tires – 8% of America’s total annual tire market. The ENSO technology campus will integrate research and development with production under one roof to accelerate and scale innovation.
Announced at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC, potential factory locations include Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Georgia, with other states in consideration. The U.S., particularly California, has a significant EV consumer base and is leading efforts to regulate tire efficiency and emissions, making the U.S. the ideal market for ENSO.
ENSO CEO Gunnlaugur Erlendsson said, "The U.S. is the best place for ENSO to establish its first carbon-neutral tire factory. With strong regulatory support and a significant market opportunity, we are committed to bringing our innovative, low-emission, low-cost tires to American consumers. This factory will make tires more affordable, reduce tire pollution, create great jobs and drive sustainability in the U.S. tire industry.”
The U.S. regulatory environment strongly supports ENSO’s move to America. Initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act have transformed the automotive sector and enabled more ambitious EPA (Environment Protection Act) emissions standards, paving the way for similar advancements in the tire industry. Programs such as the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Replacement Tire Efficiency Program and the California Environmental Protection Agency’s (CalEPA) efforts to control toxic chemicals such as 6PPD in tires align with ENSO's goals, by setting out minimum efficiency and environmental standards for both new and aftermarket tires.
Tires are critical to keeping America’s economy moving. Without tires, all 275 million vehicles in the U.S. would grind to halt. Currently, the majority of tires sold in the U.S. are imported. This factory will help reduce America’s reliance on imports, enhancing domestic production capabilities. There is a big consumer appetite in the U.S. for ENSO’s tire innovation. Nearly half (47%) of Americans would be more encouraged to buy a set of tires if they were made in the U.S., 46% if they used fewer toxic materials, 43% if they produced fewer emissions, and 41% if they were made from recycled materials.
ENSO’s mission is to make EVs more successful and reduce tire pollution, saving costs for every American. ENSO’s tires already increase EV range by 10% and reduce particulate matter emissions by 35%. By producing fewer, longer-lasting tires with better technology, ENSO aims to cut tire pollution.
Tire pollution is a significant issue, responsible for six million tons of particulate matter emitted globally each year. Tire pollution is a major contributor to ocean microplastic pollution and local air pollution, while tire production is carbon intensive and creates huge amounts of waste at the end of life. ENSO, a finalist in the ‘Clean Our Air’ category of The Earthshot Prize, the prestigious annual environmental award established by Prince William, is leading the way on environmental standards in the tire industry. ENSO is leading efforts to decarbonize the tire industry and is committed to completely phase out all fossil fuel based raw materials from its products by 2030, replacing them with bio-based renewable and low-carbon alternatives.
The U.S. has a major market opportunity to lead the transformation of the tire industry and to incentivize EV adoption. America doesn't make enough tires, and ENSO’s factory will be a major step toward achieving these goals, ensuring economic benefits and environmental sustainability for American consumers. This factory therefore represents a significant investment in setting a new standard for the future of American tire manufacturing.
June 24, 2023
FORBES FEATURES ENSO'S CALL FOR BETTER EV TIRES
Forbes has featured ENSO's innovation, highlighting how more efficient, less polluting tires are essential for EVs.
“No tire will last forever, but we can make them a lot better than they are made today. Carmakers can engineer vehicles to reduce tire wear, they can make them less heavy, reduce the torque or change the size of the tire. However, while the tire on a new vehicle has been engineered with the OEM’s approval, there's no control what happens in the aftermarket.”
“Tire pollution is very serious,” says Erlendsson. “We're exposed to more PM 2.5 and PM 10 dust from tires than tailpipes, but where's the regulation against that? The Euro 7 regulation is flawed because it only applies to new vehicles, not the tire aftermarket. It's also flawed because the level will probably be put where it will be easy for the top tier tire manufacturers to achieve. They cannot even agree today how they're going to create the tire wear mechanism measurements, nor where the level of the pass-fail will be set. So unlike energy efficiency and safety or noise, there's no rating. It'll either be good or bad, but it'll only be good or bad for new vehicles. It won't take care of the problem for the aftermarket, which is 80% of the volume. So we're still going to be faced with cheap imports of inferior products.”
“Ultimately, altruism is great, but you need to make it profitable,” concludes Erlendsson. “If the raw materials for more efficient tires are fundamentally more expensive, you can only pivot to these materials if you change the underlying business model. The top tiers choose not to do this because it's not economic for them to do so, rather than because it's technologically challenging. They don't do it because they can't make it as profitable as the current status quo.”
May 17, 2023
ENSO'S INNOVATION FEATURED BY REUTERS
ENSO is very proud to be featured extensively by Reuters, highlighting how we can extend EV range and reduce tire pollution.
"The unintended consequence of electric cars is we'll have more tire pollution unless we have better tires," said Enso's Erlendsson, whose tires, in testing emit 35% less than premium EV tires from major manufacturers.
For EVs to be successful at scale they need to be equipped with better tires.
March 28, 2023
ENSO LAUNCHES LONDON STORE FOR ELECTRIC TAXIS
ENSO has launches its tire store in London, offering its range-extending EV tires to the London electric taxi market.
Thank you TAXI NEWSPAPER for covering our launch.
February 23, 2023
GUARDIAN REPORTS ON LONDON FREIGHTLAB RESULTS
The Guardian has featured ENSO's trial results from London FreightLab, along with a new report on tire pollution from Imperial College London.
"Scientists are “increasingly concerned” by the health impact of air pollution produced by the wear of vehicle tires. The particles are especially damaging due to the toxic chemicals they are made from, say the scientists from Imperial College London. The warning follows UK government data that shows significantly more tiny pollution particles now come from tire erosion than are emitted from vehicle exhausts."
"However, trials of new types of tires sponsored by Transport for London (TfL) found they could result in up to 35% less emissions. The EU is also due to regulate tire emissions in a world first, with new standards due to be in force by mid-2025. A new type of tire, designed by the startup company Enso specifically for electric vehicles (EVs) and to produce less tire wear, was tested recently in a six-month trial sponsored by TfL and using dozens of vans operated by Royal Mail and the delivery company DPD."
"The results showed that Enso’s tires produced less tire pollution and were more energy efficient than budget range tires, meaning greater range per battery charge. They were also equal to or better than premium tires, and the company said they would cost 10% less."
August 9, 2022
ENSO ANNOUNCES PAY-PER-MILE TIRES FOR ELECTRIC TAXIS
ENSO is proud to announce its innovative Pay-Per-Mile tIre for LEVC London electric taxis, to be launched in collaboration with ZETI, our digital fleet financing partner.
Thank you AUTOCAR for covering our launch.
June 24, 2022
ENSO SHOWCASES AT THE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED
ENSO is very excited to be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, to commercially launch the ENSO TX1, the world’s first ‘A’-rated EV tire developed to extend the range of London’s electric taxis.
June 11, 2022
ENSO SHOWCASES AT THE EVS35 IN OSLO
ENSO is very proud to showcase its EV tires at the EVS35, the International Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition in Norway, in partnership with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Enso Tyres is delighted to announce that it has been nominated to The Earthshot Prize, in the 'Clean Your Air' category. Thank you Cranfield University!
March 3, 2022
ENSO ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH WASTEFRONT
ENSO and Wastefront AS, the Norwegian waste tire recycling company, announced today a strategic partnership, which will see ENSO incorporate Wastefront’s recycled carbon black (rCB) in its tires, providing ENSO with a fully circular recycling outlet for its used tires, delivering circularity as part of its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).