Skip to main content

Tyres ‘could charge EV batteries’

Unveiled at the recent Geneva Motor Show, two concept tyres by Goodyear could radically change the role of car tyres in the future according to the company. The first concept, named BHO3, offers the possibility of charging the batteries of electric cars by transforming the heat generated by the rolling tyre into electrical energy. The second concept, Triple Tub, contains three tubes that adjust tyre inflation pressure in response to changing road conditions, delivering new levels of performance and versatil
March 11, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Unveiled at the recent Geneva Motor Show, two concept tyres by 843 Goodyear could radically change the role of car tyres in the future according to the company.

The first concept, named BHO3, offers the possibility of charging the batteries of electric cars by transforming the heat generated by the rolling tyre into electrical energy. The second concept, Triple Tub, contains three tubes that adjust tyre inflation pressure in response to changing road conditions, delivering new levels of performance and versatility.

The BHO3 tyre generates electricity through the action of materials in the tyre that capture and transform the energy created by heat when it flexes as it rolls during normal driving conditions. The materials used would optimise the tire’s electricity generation capabilities as well as its rolling resistance.

As demand for electric cars grows, Goodyear says this technology has the potential to significantly contribute to the solution of future mobility challenges and could eliminate the vehicle-range anxiety motorists may have with electric cars.

Triple Tube features three internal tubes located beneath the tread and near the inboard and outboard shoulders of the tyre as well as the centre. The tyre relies on an internal pump that moves air from the main air chamber to the three individual air chambers, or tubes. The tyre automatically adjusts, on its own, to three different positions based on road conditions.

“These concept tyres re-imagine the role that tires may play in the future,” said Joe Zekoski, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief technical officer. “We envision a future in which our products become more integrated with the vehicle and the consumer, more environmentally friendly and more versatile.”

Related Content

  • November 16, 2021
    IRD's on-the-go tyre check adjusts for inflation
    As many as 84 million vehicles worldwide may have tyres which are improperly inflated or in poor condition, which has a significant effect on road safety - and also on the environment
  • December 22, 2016
    UK-invented tyre monitoring technology unveiled at ‘highway of the future’
    A UK-developed technology that measures the tread depth and pressure of tyres in seconds, has been unveiled as part of a ground-breaking ‘highway of the future’ live project in the USA. Able to monitor the tyre condition without the need for any equipment or sensors on the vehicle itself, the road-embedded technology has been developed by WheelRight, an Oxford-based company. The drive-over technology has been adopted by The Ray, an 18 mile stretch of highway connecting Georgia and Alabama, which aims to
  • January 15, 2016
    US university investigates smart car tyres
    Researchers at Virginia Tech, Penn State University, and 12 industry partners are collaborating on a US$1.2 million National Science Foundation-funded project to integrate sensors into car tyres, with the aim of providing information on the vehicle’s speed and road conditions. Saied Taheri, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and the director of the Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe), is the project’s lead investigator. Taheri has been working for
  • March 15, 2016
    Rethink required to reduce road transport’s environmental impact
    Against a background of a renewed focus on limiting the rise in average temperatures, Colin Sowman looks at a project that is taking a holistic approach to the environmental impact and safety of road transport. At the COP21 meeting in Paris last December, almost 200 nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to keep the rise in global temperatures to 2°C) compared with pre-industrial levels. The transportation sector is a major contributor to the production of CO2, one of the main green