Goodyear Tire & Rubber says it is on the road to launching a self-inflating tire.
Dubbed Air Maintenance Technology, the Goodyear system incorporates a miniaturized pump within the tire to keep it inflated to the proper pressure at all times.
“While the technology is complex, the idea behind the AMT system is relatively simple and powered by the tire, itself, as it rolls down the road,” Jean-Claude Kihn, Goodyear senior vice president and chief technical officer, says in a statement.
Goodyear doesn’t disclose when it could have the tire available to retail customers, but says the launch timetable will be faster than initially expected as a result of recent government research grants it has received from the U.S. and European Union.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Vehicle Technology this week awarded a $1.5 million grant for research, development and demonstration of the AMT system for commercial truck tires.
In July, Goodyear landed a grant from the Luxemburg government for research and development of an AMT system for consumer tires.
Properly inflated tires improve fuel efficiency 2.5%-3.3%, lower emissions and enhance safety and performance, as well as last longer, Goodyear says.
