Greener Roads Ahead: How Advanced EV Tyres Are Cutting Pollution and Extending Range

By&nbspDenis Loktev

Published on 31/08/2026 – 7:02 GMT+2

Electric cars are widely seen as the cleaner choice on the road. However, Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, founder and CEO of technology company ENSO, highlights a significant environmental concern that often goes unnoticed—the tyres.

“Tyres are one of these really complicated products we don’t really see very often, even though they’re absolutely everywhere,” Erlendsson tells Euronews Earth. “The whole global economy runs on tyres.”

This widespread use comes with a substantial environmental footprint. The process involves raw material extraction, energy-intensive manufacturing, and continuous wear from braking, accelerating, and turning—all contributing to pollution.

“Tyres are both a source of major air pollution, which is also a microplastic. So it’s one of the biggest sources of air pollution in cities. It’s also one of the biggest source of microplastic pollution in our oceans,” Erlendsson says.

Disposal adds another layer to the problem. “We actually burn almost two billion tyres every year because so few of them are actually recycled back into tyres again,” he explains.

ENSO was founded to address these impacts while supporting the shift to electric vehicles. “Our mission really is about enhancing electric vehicles while we’re addressing the problems that tyres cause,” Erlendsson says.

Why Electric Vehicles Wear Tyres Faster

Although electric vehicles are cleaner to operate, Erlendsson points out that they place greater stress on tyres. “Electric vehicles are fairly unique because they’re really heavy. They have really high torque. So they tend to wear out tyres faster than traditional cars ever did,” he notes.

Driving behavior exacerbates the issue. “They’re really fun to drive. People drive them more aggressively, which again wears tyres faster,” Erlendsson adds, observing that EVs are frequently used in urban areas where frequent stopping, starting, and turning increases tyre pollution.

Another less obvious factor is efficiency. Erlendsson explains that electric vehicles convert around 90% of energy into motion, compared to roughly 30% for petrol cars.

“That efficiency gain with electric vehicles is positive, but it makes them incredibly sensitive to tyres,” he says. “If you don’t put a good tyre on an electric car, you lose a lot of range and you use more electricity.”

To tackle this challenge, ENSO has reimagined the raw materials, formula, and construction of its tyres, incorporating insights gathered from vehicle fleet data. “When we deploy onto fleets, it means that we get data. We take that data, that insight, that knowledge, that know-how, and we put it back into the product again,” Erlendsson explains.

Specifically designed to handle the high torque and heavy battery weight characteristic of EVs, ENSO’s advanced polymer compounds and tread chemistry reduce tyre particulate emissions by up to 35% compared to conventional tyres. Additionally, they boost overall energy efficiency and extend vehicle driving range by up to 10%, according to the company.

Scaling Up With Major Partners

ENSO’s expansion strategy focuses on collaborating with large-scale taxi and delivery fleets rather than targeting individual consumers. Already partnering with Uber, the company supplies tyres to electric vehicle drivers throughout the UK, with intentions to expand further.

“Ultimately, it’s about enabling these high mobility use cases that drive a lot to get better products,” Erlendsson says, emphasizing that high-mileage vehicles achieve the greatest savings in energy costs and pollution reduction.

Recognition from the Earthshot Prize, where ENSO was a finalist in 2023, significantly raised awareness for an issue Erlendsson believes the automotive industry has long avoided discussing.

“Tyre pollution has been this kind of industry topic that hasn’t really been addressed by, I would say, the mainstream industry. They don’t really want to talk about it,” he observes. He credits Prince William’s involvement with drawing broader attention to the issue, describing it as “really substantial in terms of highlighting… how we can actually use technology to enhance better air we breathe, reduce the microplastics in our oceans.”

Looking forward, ENSO aims to continue expanding its fleet partnerships and diversifying its range of tyre sizes to accommodate new electric vehicle models entering the market. The United States has been identified as its next major growth market.

“We want the rest of the industry to follow us,” Erlendsson concludes. “We just want to be the catalyst that makes the change happen.”

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