Born from the cooperation between Michelin and General Motors and announced during the lately completed edition of Movin'on, the annual case of the French Sustainable Mobility Manufacturer held in Montreal, we are talking about Uptis (U nique P uncture-proof Tire S ystem), tire developed defined as Airless, lacking an inner tube, and distinguished by many other elements that aim to suggest it.
In addition to pollution related to damaging exhaust emissions, the road transport industry puts a burden on the environment from many other points of perspective, one of the most "bulky" is definitely the one connected to the tire globe, vital for being able to move and perhaps the most significant component for safe driving as the only point of contact between the car and the asphalt.
Having said that, the innovation that Uptis wishes to introduce to this industry has two sides: on the one side, it aims to present itself as a more durable product and readily reconstructed (5-6 times); on the other, excluding the compressed air factor, it seeks to enhance efficiency by providing steady working circumstances, as it is maintenance-free and without the danger of insufficient pressure concentrations;
A tire already intended to be placed on the market, intended to adapt to all vehicles, but evolved primarily to better match, for instance, zero-emission vehicles in order to contribute to achieving a realistic zero environmental impact as close as possible.
Uptis will go on sale in 2024, after some field test stages that will see it fitted as a standard on the Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car or, already this year, on some commercial vehicle fleet in the United States.