Continental Phases Out Coal and Heavy Fuel Oil in Tyre Production
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Continental is taking the alternative fuel route
Continental has reached an important milestone in its global sustainability strategy, with coal and heavy fuel oil having been fully phased out across all tyre production sites.
All plants have now adopted alternative energy sources to generate the steam required for manufacturing tyres and heating, which include biomass, biogas, electricity from renewable sources, alternative fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas, in order to ensure a constant energy supply.
Dr. Bernhard Trilken, Head of Manufacturing and Logistics at Continental Tires, says: “For us, coal and heavy fuel oil are a thing of the past, with the future increasingly lying in renewable energies.
“By relying on a smart mix of energy sources that are increasingly renewable and ideally generated directly on site, we are making our manufacturing more independent and therefore more resilient.”
Until the early 2020s, seven of Continental’s 19 production facilities worldwide relied on coal and heavy fuel oil to generate steam, an approach that ensured constant thermal output and high operational reliability even in regions with limited gas or electricity infrastructure.
Today, all Continental tyre plants draw on a diversified mix of alternative energy sources, enabled by systematic and long-term investments. Transitioning to alternative energy sources is a key part of Continental’s sustainability efforts.
In tyre manufacturing, a significant share of energy is required for heating processes such as vulcanization, which gives rubber its elastic properties. While this step has long used steam produced directly from fossil-based energy sources, new advanced electric technologies make the process far more flexible and more energy efficient.
In addition, since 2020 Continental has purchased electricity exclusively from renewable sources and is continuing to expand its own renewable energy generation. The company reduced the greenhouse gas intensity of its production by more than ten percent in 2025 compared to the previous year and by around 70 percent compared to 2019.
By switching to lower-emission energy sources, Continental has cut around 180,000 metric tons of CO₂ from tyre production over the past four years.
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