Goodyear reveals ‘breathing’ tyre that will clean the air around it

Goodyear has announced plans for a “breathing” tyre that cleans the air around it.

The Oxygene concept features a living moss sidewall that uses photosynthesis to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen.

The Oxygene is a 3D-printed open-structure ty re made from the rubber of recycled tyres. Goodyear says the lightweight non-pneumatic structure should last longer than regular tyres and its open structure will help improve grip by absorbing water from the tread.

The tyre also uses that water to feed its unique moss sidewall. It absorbs moisture from the road through the tread and inhales CO2 from the air to feed the moss, which then releases oxygen via photosynthesis.

Goodyear claims that in a city the size of greater Paris with about 2.5 million vehicles, this could generate nearly 3,000 tonnes of oxygen and absorb more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

If that’s not enough, the concept tyre harvests the energy generated during photosynthesis to power its embedded electronics, including on board sensors, an artificial intelligence processing unit, and a customisable light strip in the tyre’ s side wall that switches colours, warning other road users of upcoming manoeuvres.