DPD is joining forces with the electric vehicle tire developer Enso to conduct full road trials of a new commercial EV tire design, specified to reduce air and microplastic pollution.
The trial is a part of Transport for London’s FreightLab Innovation Challenge, which is backed by the Mayor of London.
As tires wear, they emit more air pollution than tailpipes. In addition, tire particulate matter pollution makes up 28% of all primary ocean microplastics. The increased weight and torque of EVs increase tire wear, meaning that electric vehicles often emit more tire particulate matter than ICE vehicles.
Enso, headquartered in London, has developed a new tire that increases EV range on a single charge while reducing air and microplastic tire PM pollution.
Mercedes eVito electric van (Image: DPD)
This range-extending, pollution-reducing design recently broke a world hypermiling record, achieving the longest distance ever driven by a Renault Zoe on a single charge (achieving 764km on June 10 at Thruxton Race Circuit in the UK), in partnership with Mission Motorsport, the UK Armed Forces’ motorsport charity.
During the trial with DPD, Enso will compare its tire design with industry benchmarks on a fleet of DPD’s Nissan e-NV200 vans over a nine-month period, measuring improvements in energy efficiency and tire durability.
“Rather than just simply buying EVs, our whole approach to sustainability is about joining the dots and working with like-minded innovators to help solve the big challenges like air pollution,” said DPD’s head of CSR, Olly Craughan. “Through our involvement in London FreightLab we got to know Enso and understand their vision. While EVs are the future, unless we also solve the problem of tire particulate matter pollution, we aren’t really unlocking their full potential.”
Read more: tire TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
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