Toronto, Ontario — Stellantis is breaking eggs, and it’s about innovation. The automaker suggests that eggshells could be used to make tires more efficient in wet conditions.
The patent application, originally filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2023, specifically suggests that calcium oxide (CaO) could be extracted from discarded eggshells and used to replace the carbon black and silica found in traditional tires.
The reason for this replacement, says the automaker, is that eggs potentially offer more than 90 percent calcium carbonate, while also offering sustainable solutions to replace chemical-derived materials.
As originally noted by CarMoses, calcium oxide can improve a tire’s rolling resistance as well as enhancing its grip in wet conditions.
For Stellantis, a CaO-infused tire formula will reportedly improve fuel efficiency by approximately three percent and rolling resistance by 20 percent when compared to standard tires.
As a result, as Stellantis takes a crack at revolutionizing tire technology, it seems the future of driving may not just be about speed and power—it might also involve a little bit of egg-cellent sustainability, but only if the technology successfully hatches at the manufacturing stage.
