[The Industrial Heart Beats Again] Eliminating Punctures and Embedding Computers... The Birthplace of Future Car Tires

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Kumho Tire Yongin Central Research Center

Comprehensive Global Data and Product Development
R&D Workforce and Investment Expanding

Airless Tires Requiring No Air
Equipped with Smart Sensors Reading Road Surfaces
Advanced Technology Applied Products Near Demonstration

Exterior view of Kumho Tire Central Research Center in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do

Photo by Kumho Tire

[Yongin=Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] "The products we research and develop today will definitely be used in the near future."

Joman-sik Cho, Executive Director and Head of Research and Development (R&D) at Kumho Tire, expressed confidence in the new products currently under development. As the industry rapidly shifts from internal combustion engine vehicles to eco-friendly electric and autonomous vehicles, Kumho Tire is actively preparing for the new normal in the tire industry and working to establish industry standards.

Among them, the Central Research Institute located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, plays a key role by integrating product R&D information, customer requirements, and global environmental regulations through a network of three overseas research centers in the United States, Germany, and China, as well as the Performance Evaluation Centers in Gwangju Metropolitan City and Gokseong, Jeollanam-do. Additionally, it measures and evaluates tire performance under various user environmental conditions through 430 testing devices and real-vehicle performance evaluation facilities.

On the 16th, the Kumho Tire Central Research Institute was busy physically and chemically analyzing and experimenting on tires from global tire companies while passionately developing new products. Despite the tire industry's difficulties caused by COVID-19, raw material prices, and shipping costs, Kumho Tire is instead expanding its R&D workforce and investment.

Kumho Tire's research institute plans to increase its R&D personnel from about 663 this year to 698 in 2022, 728 in 2023, and 761 in 2024, a 1.2-fold increase. The budget, set at 120.7 billion KRW this year, which is 4.5% of sales, is also planned to be expanded to 167.8 billion KRW by 2024.

Kumho Tire Central Research Institute has recently developed the airless tire 'e-NIMF' for future mobility and is preparing for its commercialization.

Photo by Kumho Tire

Photo by Kumho Tire

Kumho Tire plans to conduct a demonstration of a smart sensor system embedded in tires that detects road surface and driving conditions in real time and communicates this information to the driver.

Photo by Kumho Tire

Kumho Tire's R&D investments are steadily yielding results. They have developed a pattern design technology dedicated to electric vehicles that enhances durability while reducing noise, and have also entered the final stages of developing the ‘e-NIMF’ (eco-friendly No Inflation Maintenance Free tire), commonly called an airless tire, which requires no air pressure. The e-NIMF consists of spokes that replace air pressure, shear bands that transmit forces generated on the ground, and treads that contact the ground.

Director Cho explained, "Once autonomous driving technology is perfected, steering wheels will disappear, but air pressure tires are difficult to control if air pressure is lost due to foreign substances during driving, increasing the risk of fatal accidents. Airless tires will be a new alternative for autonomous vehicle tires."

Additionally, Kumho Tire's research institute has developed a smart sensor system mounted on tires that can monitor tire air pressure, temperature, and acceleration data in real time during driving and provide real-time analysis information to drivers, enabling improved fuel efficiency and safe driving management. Kumho Tire plans to collaborate with bus companies in the second half of this year to conduct demonstration projects.

Kumho Tire's Real Vehicle Tire Performance Evaluation

Photo by Kumho Tire

Kumho Tire Central Research Institute possesses tire performance prediction technology (intelligent Tire Analysis System).

Photo by Kumho Tire

Moreover, using supercomputers, they conduct virtual modeling simulations for passenger car and luxury bus tire structural design, development of new materials such as tire rubber and cords, and research to optimize performance between vehicles and tires. This reduces errors and dramatically shortens development time. Director Cho stated, "We will actively recruit AI talent among R&D personnel in the future and continue digital innovation by introducing 5th generation supercomputers this year."

Following selections by global automakers such as Audi (Q5), Mercedes-Benz (G-Class), and Renault (New Arkana), Kumho Tire has also received high praise from global evaluation institutions. According to the 2021 Original Equipment (OE) tire satisfaction survey released by U.S. market research firm J.D. Power in March this year, Kumho Tire ranked third globally in the passenger car category, following Michelin and Goodyear. Additionally, the concept tires, the airless tire e-NIMF and the hybrid tire e-TOPs, have won the German iF Design Award.

They have also moved quickly toward carbon neutrality. Currently, the composition ratio of eco-friendly raw materials is 24%, with goals to increase it to 40% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, and are actively developing materials. They are also developing ultra-low rolling resistance eco-friendly tires that improve fuel efficiency by 12% compared to top-tier products.

In particular, since forming a tire industry project research group with 11 global tire companies in 2009, Kumho Tire has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 8% in 2017 compared to 2009 through improved energy use efficiency.

The tire exhibition hall at Kumho Tire Central Research Institute displays not only the tires developed and sold so far but also tires that will be used in future vehicles. Photo by Ki-min Lee victor.lee@