Interview with ROTOBOOST
1. Your talk at Carbon Black World 2026 will dive into “Low-carbon footprint carbon material for tire applications (Methane pyrolysis technology)”.
A) Why do you think it’s important for others in the industry to hear this message?
The tire industry is entering a phase where decarbonisation can no longer be treated as a parallel agenda to performance and cost; it has to be solved within the material itself. That is why this topic matters. At ROTOBOOST, we are developing a methane pyrolysis platform based on Thermo-Catalytic Decomposition (TCD), which converts methane into hydrogen-rich gas and solid carbon without generating process CO₂ from the methane-splitting reaction itself. This creates a new pathway for carbon materials with a significantly lower carbon footprint than many conventional routes, while also offering a different structural profile from conventional furnace black.
For the industry, this is not just about replacing one raw material with another. It is about expanding the toolkit for how lower-emission, performance-oriented tire materials can be developed and qualified in the years ahead. Low-carbon carbon materials are no longer only a sustainability topic; they are becoming a product development, procurement, and competitiveness topic as well.
ROTOBOOST has also worked to build credibility around this pathway. We achieved TüV SüD certification for the lifecycle carbon footprints of our hydrogen and carbon products, and we have entered into collaboration with industry partners, including Hankook Tire, to evaluate how these lowcarbon materials can meet real application requirements. That combination of decarbonization potential, technical validation, and industrial engagement is why we believe this is a timely and important message for the market.
B) What are some of the key take-aways?
There are three main takeaways. First, low-carbon carbon materials must be evaluated in terms of both sustainability and functionality. For tire applications, the market does not need lower-emission materials that underperform; it needs solutions that can support compound performance while improving the carbon profile of the end product.
Second, methane pyrolysis offers a distinctive value proposition because it produces two valuable outputs at the same time: hydrogen-rich gas and solid carbon. That dual-output model has the potential to improve overall process economics and reduce dependence on policy support alone.
Third, credibility will increasingly depend on verification. As regulatory expectations rise and procurement standards become more rigorous, certified lifecycle data and application-specific testing will matter far more than broad sustainability claims. The industry is moving from “low-carbon in principle” to “low-carbon with evidence,” and that is where we believe the discussion needs to be.
2. What are the main challenges that the industry is facing and how do you think that this conference can address them?
The industry is facing several challenges at the same time. One is the need to decarbonise while maintaining the performance standards that tire and rubber applications demand. Another is uncertainty around feedstock, cost, and long-term material consistency. There is also a growing need for better transparency: customers, regulators, and downstream users increasingly expect auditable data rather than general sustainability claims.
At the same time, many emerging material solutions still face a gap between promising laboratory results and scalable industrial adoption. Qualification cycles can be long, customers are understandably cautious, and manufacturers need confidence not only in the material itself, but also in the reliability of supply and the quality of supporting data.
That is where a conference like Carbon Black World is especially valuable. It brings together material producers, compounders, tire manufacturers, technical specialists, and commercial decision-makers in one place. For ROTOBOOST, this is an opportunity to contribute to a more practical industry dialogue: what low-carbon carbon materials must demonstrate, how they should be evaluated, and what it will take to move from technical interest to commercial implementation. The industry does not need more abstract discussion; it needs honest conversations around qualification, scale-up, and measurable value.
3. What do you think will be some of the most interesting advancements in materials or processing in the near future?
One of the most interesting developments will be the move toward application-engineered carbon materials rather than one-size-fits-all solutions. In the future, more value will come from tailoring structure, particle characteristics, morphology, and surface chemistry to specific end uses, whether in tire compounds, conductive materials, elastomers, or other advanced applications.
We also expect much closer integration between materials development, process engineering, and lifecycle assessment. In the past, performance, manufacturability, and sustainability were often evaluated in parallel but separately. Going forward, the leading solutions will be those designed from the start to perform across all three dimensions.
Another major shift will be the growing importance of verified carbon data. In our view, certification and traceable lifecycle analysis will increasingly become a baseline requirement for serious market adoption. The most interesting advancement is therefore not only a better material, but a better overall platform: one that combines performance potential, scalable production, and defensible carbon credentials.
4. What are you most looking forward to hearing and/or seeing at Carbon Black World 2026?
What we are most looking forward to is engaging with people who are focused on practical implementation. The most valuable conversations are no longer about whether low-carbon carbon materials are interesting in theory, but about how they can be qualified, specified, and integrated into real supply chains and product development roadmaps.
We are particularly interested in discussions around the relationship between carbon structure and compound performance, and how the industry is approaching validation for newer classes of carbon materials. Events like this are most useful when they create open technical dialogue between material developers, compounders, and end users, because that is how adoption accelerates.
For ROTOBOOST, Carbon Black World is an opportunity both to share our perspective and to learn from others across the value chain. We see the future of this industry being shaped not only by decarbonisation targets, but by collaboration on what genuinely works at commercial scale.
