On May 23, it was reported that Sumitomo Rubber of Japan has recently taken important steps in technological innovation, aiming to consolidate and enhance its position in the industry. The company has recently continued to introduce new ideas and further occupied high-end market share by developing high-quality tire formulas to expand brand influence and increase corporate profits.
Following the previous successful launch of its innovative silent technology, Sumitomo Rubber once again announced that it will start upgrading research on tire rubber raw materials. On the 17th of this month, the company revealed that it had begun to use the new 3GeV high-intensity synchrotron radiation facility "NanoTerasu" to conduct in-depth research on rubber at the nanometer level. The use of this high-tech facility provides the possibility of high-resolution visualization of rubber materials, and the rubber structure can be observed more refined than ever before through "soft x-rays."
According to the Carbon Black Industry Network, Sumitomo Rubber has jointly carried out this research with a technical cooperation university earlier this year. The new facility not only helps clarify in detail the process of rubber deterioration, but also provides in-depth analysis of the chemical state of sulfur cross-linking, details that are critical to improving the performance of tire rubber. In order to further deepen this research and optimize rubber formulation, Sumitomo Rubber established a special research and development center in Sendai, Japan last year. The center will use the NanoTerasu facility to support research on nanoscale rubber materials to develop tire products equipped with "active tread technology" to improve the overall performance of tires in dry and wet road conditions.
In addition, Sumitomo Rubber is also actively developing new "sulfur-based" products, which is the result of joint efforts with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology of Japan and its Technical Cooperation University. It is worth mentioning that the company plans to limit the application of sulfur chemistry not only to tire manufacturing, but also hopes to expand it to the material optimization of next-generation lithium-sulfur batteries, thereby comprehensively enhancing Sumitomo Rubber's influence in the automotive industry. These innovative measures indicate that Sumitomo Rubber is actively expanding its leading position in the rubber industry through continuous technological innovation.
