Continental Tire Plant Enables CO2-neutral Production

CO2-neutral production process being tested in mega-plant in Lousado, Portugal with a production capacity of more than 18 million tires per year

An innovative electric boiler can generate steam from green electricity instead of gas
By 2040 at the latest, Continental wants to switch production in all tire plants to CO2-neutral

The UltraContact NXT, the most sustainable series tire to date, is produced in Lousado

Electric boiler can generate steam from green electricity instead of gas.

Since this year, Continental can produce tires CO2-neutrally at its tire plant in Lousado, Portugal. The tire manufacturer has thus taken an important step towards its goal of completely CO2-neutral production. This is possible thanks to the generation of steam using an boiler, that operates entirely on electricity. Continental uses both self-generated solar power and renewable electricity from the power grid for its steam generation. Before, natural gas was used as sole energy source for steam generation at the Lousado tire plant. In the tire industry, a large proportion of the energy consumed is used to generate steam, which is needed to heat the tires, a process known as vulcanization. The thermal energy turns the raw rubber into flexible and elastic rubber. With an annual production capacity of 18 million tires, the plant in Lousado is a mega plant. By 2040 at the latest, Continental wants to switch all tire plants completely to CO2-neutral production processes.

Mixture of different sources to ensure stable and more sustainable processes

Pedro Carreira, Head of the Continental tire plant in Lousado, Portugal.
A conventional gas boiler will continue to be available in addition to the new electric steam boiler. This allows Continental to react flexibly to the fluctuating availability of renewable energies and other environmental factors.

In Lousado, the sun shines for an average of seven hours a day. In winter, the average is four hours. For comparison: in Berlin, the sun only shines for 1.8 hours a day in winter.

Continental tire plant in Lousado, Portugal.
As a result of years of efforts, Continental Tires has reached an industry-leading position when it comes to energy consumption per metric ton of tires produced compared to the industry average. This is the result of a Continental-internal benchmarking exercise with the average energy consumption of the world’s leading tire manufacturers, as reported by the Tire Industry Project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. In 2023 alone, Continental’s tire division reduced its annual energy requirements by a total of around 150 gigawatt hours thanks to 160 energy-saving projects. This was achieved by such measures as for example thermal insulation. This is roughly equivalent to the average annual electricity supply of 12,500 single-family homes.

Lousado: a site with a long history looking ahead to the future
In addition to the UltraContact NXT, the most sustainable series tire to date, tires for cars, agricultural machinery and off-road vehicles are manufactured at the location in Lousado. With more than 30 years of history in Portugal, Continental is a reliable partner that values its history and is committed to innovation in both tire manufacturing and automotive technology.

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