Where the soybeans meet the road -- on your car tires

Those car tires you kick someday may be made from soybeans.

Goodyear is working on tires made at least partially of soybean oil instead of petroleum-based oil.  In addition to reducing Goodyear's petroleum consumption for tires, soy-oil tires have longer tread life and may reduce Goodyear factories' energy use, the company said.

Goodyear researchers have found the treads on the new tires last 10 percent longer. The tires require less energy to make at the factory because soy-made rubber blends more readily into the tire. 

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

A synthetic rubber tire contains about 5 gallons of petroleum-based oil,  according to the Rubber Manufacturers Assocation, but Goodyear doesn't say how much of that will get replaced by soybean oil. The company does say it thinks the new tires may reduce its petroleum consumption by as much as 7 million gallons a year. That's about as much petroleum as 8,000 American drivers might use in a year, as calculated from data from the  Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the  Argonne National Laboratory  and the  U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Goodyear is now building prototypes and testing them. The final product may show up in stores as early as 2015.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

The Goodyear research is partially funded by the United Soybean Board, which is contributing $500,000 over two years. 

Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on Facebook.

• HOLD - Top 10 Life-Changing Inventions
• Car Friction Reduction Could Save 31 Billion Gallons of Wasted Fuel, Study Suggests
• 10 Future Public Transportation Vehicles