Japanese companies join forces with US carbon recycling firm to develop waste recycling solutions

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Sumitomo Riko Company, Sumitomo Electric Industries and LanzaTech, a US-based carbon recycling firm, collaborate to further the development of recycling technologies, paving the way for a circular economy.

The three Japanese-based companies will work together with LanzaTech, with aim to pioneer groundbreaking technologies that enable a circular economy, transforming waste materials, including rubber, resin, urethane and metal, into valuable resources.

In the collaboration, LanzaTech’s biorecycling technology is leveraged to turn waste materials like tires into isoprene, which can be used as new rubber material. This will be achieved by gasifying the waste and purifying the resulting gas, and then putting them through a fermentation process that transforms the gas into new raw materials.

Framework of the collaborative recycling process.

The end goal of the collaboration is to explore the feasibility of establishing a recycling technology that enables the reuse of isoprene as materials for rubber and resin. The team also contemplate the idea of recycling the metals recovered during the gasifying process and reusing them as raw materials.

The four companies will contribute to carbon neutrality and circular economy with a unique circular economy concept “TOWANOWA”.

Key visual of the circular economy concept “TOWANOWA”.

To bring “TOWANOWA” circular economy concept to life, it is crucial to advance “Recovery and Recycling” initiatives in Sumitomo Rubber’s tire business, and to create a system that transforms discarded tires into useful resources. The collaboration is an integral part of the research and development in recycling technology.

Success requires fostering collaboration across diverse sectors, involving stakeholders from academia, industry, and government. In the future, Sumitomo Rubber intends to continue intensifying each process of the circular business concept “TOWANOWA” and use data to boost efficiency in internal development.