14 _ideas

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IDEA

Reinventing the Wheel

U

p to 20% of the fuel a car consumes — and up to 40% for heavy

more than the competition, but the company says their construction

rigs — can be chalked up to the battle against the resistance of

allied to regular maintenance means each one could last for one million

the road. Tyremakers have long tried to make tyres that are ever

kilometres. Goodyear has also produced a no-worse-for-the-wear

less resistant and save fuel and curb emissions in the process. Michelin

tyre, the Fuel Max, which the US Environmental Protection Agency

calls its latest innovation the X Energy Savergreen, and claims it will

reckons will save your average 18-wheeler up to 4,000 gallons of petrol

save 500 litres of fuel per truck per year, and reduce greenhouse gas

a year. Recently Goodyear joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a

emissions by nearly 2.5 tonnes over the tyre’s ‘first life’, before it can

voluntary initiative of shippers, carriers and logistics firms, which aims to

be retread, or regrooved for further use. Michelin tyres may cost a bit

save a collective 6.6 billion tonnes of diesel by 2012.

14 CNBC EUROPEAN BUSINESS I NOVEMBER 2008

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