Company Cuts EV Tire Pollution by 35% Using New Materials

Electric cars promised to clean up our roads, but their tires have been quietly dumping microplastics into our air and oceans at alarming rates.

ENSO, a technology company founded by Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, is changing that with tires specifically designed for electric vehicles. The innovation addresses a hidden problem: EVs are heavier and more powerful than traditional cars, causing them to wear through tires faster and release more pollution with every turn and stop.

"Tires are one of the biggest sources of air pollution in cities and microplastic pollution in our oceans," Erlendsson explains. The numbers back him up. Nearly two billion tires get burned every year because so few can be recycled back into new tires.

The challenge runs deeper than most drivers realize. Electric vehicles convert about 90 percent of their energy into motion, compared to just 30 percent for gas cars. That efficiency makes them incredibly sensitive to tire quality, meaning bad tires don't just pollute more but also drain the battery faster.

ENSO rebuilt the tire from scratch, changing the raw materials, formula, and construction. They partnered with taxi and delivery fleets to collect real-world data, then used those insights to keep improving the product. The result reduces tire pollution by up to 35 percent compared to conventional tires while improving energy efficiency and driving range by up to 10 percent.

The company has already partnered with Uber to supply tires for electric vehicle drivers across the UK. High-mileage vehicles like taxis and delivery vans see the greatest benefits because they rack up more miles and generate more pollution with traditional tires.

The Ripple Effect

ENSO's approach is forcing the tire industry to confront an issue it has long avoided discussing. Recognition as a 2023 Earthshot Prize finalist brought mainstream attention to tire pollution, with Prince William helping spotlight how technology can clean up the air we breathe and reduce microplastics in our oceans.

The company plans to expand its fleet partnerships and add more tire sizes to match new electric vehicle models hitting the market. The United States is next on their growth map, where millions of EVs are hitting the roads every year.

"We want the rest of the industry to follow us," Erlendsson says. "We just want to be the catalyst that makes the change happen."

For an industry that burns two billion tires annually, one company's cleaner alternative is proving that solving the EV pollution problem is not just possible but profitable.