News - 2024

TOKYO (November 5, 2024) - Bridgestone Corporation will reopen the Bridgestone Innovation Gallery^*1 (Kodaira City, Tokyo) on November 5.

Bridgestone has embarked on a new "global journey for excellence" and is reinforcing sustainable global motorsports activities, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Bridgestone Motorsports in 2023. The company will continuously evolve these activities, reconnecting motorsports activities to its "origin" as a tire manufacturer and recommitting as a "Challenge for Excellence". Bridgestone's passion to race, to win, to embrace the ultimate challenge drives its innovation to advance sustainable technology and promote co-creations with society, partners, and customers, aiming for the realization of a sustainable mobility society. This commitment is encapsulated in the message of "Passion to Turn the World^®". Under this message, and with sustainability at the core of motorsports activities, Bridgestone continues to advance the development of sustainable innovation through global motorsports, enhancing its brand power as a "sustainable premium brand."

Bridgestone will open a new Motorsport Gallery inside the Bridgestone Innovation Gallery to share the passion of motorsports and showcase the company's evolution to a sustainable premium brand.

【New exhibition area】

1．New entrance exhibition

The entrance of Bridgestone Innovation Gallery has been redesigned to display the racecar that shows the company's passion to "Challenge for Excellence" in the Bridgestone and Firestone brands. The new display allows visitors to open their experience with the excitement and the passion of Bridgestone global motorsports.

2．Motorsport Gallery

The newly-established Motorsport Gallery begins by tracing Bridgestone's 60-year history in motorsports activities. The display includes a tire made in 2008 to commemorate Bridgestone's 200th race in the FIA Formula One^® World Championship, as well as tires which establish the history of Bridgestone motorsports activities.

Furthermore, Bridgestone will show its efforts to evolve toward a "sustainable premium brand" in the next stage of the Bridgestone journey. Building from its 60th anniversary celebration of Bridgestone Motorsports activities in 2023, the company aims to "TURN (evolve)" the world through motorsports in the future. As specific examples, we will exhibit tires designed for street circuit races in the NTT INDYCAR^® SERIES that use natural rubber derived from guayule^*2. The use of guayule-derived natural rubber in the sidewalls of these race tires highlights the continued push to expand and diversify renewable materials in racing and beyond. The exhibit will also feature tires from the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge^*3 equipped with ENLITEN^® technology, which is helping Bridgestone deliver "new premium in EV era."

In addition, Bridgestone will exhibit concept tires that are designed to express its focus on driving more sustainable innovation through global motorsports activities. These designs include a concept tire model inspired by Bridgestone's future motorsport agreement to be the sole tire supplier for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship starting in the 2026-2027 season. Visitors can also see models of the latest solar cars and a replica of guayule to feel and experience aspects of the more sustainable technology and performance we are challenging through our global motorsport activities.

2．"New premium in the Electric Vehicle (EV) era." - Base technology for product design "ENLITEN" and base technology for manufacturing and R&D

Bridgestone is working to create value by combining its base technology for product design "ENLITEN," which is the company position as "New premium in EV era," and its base technology for manufacturing and R&D, "BCMA (Bridgestone Commonality Modularity Architecture)"^*4.

Through a touch panel, Bridgestone Innovation Gallery will explain how ENLITEN technology not only meets the needs and wants of tires by working closely with customers, but how it also realizes "ultimate customization". Leveraging motorsports as a "mobile laboratory," the company will extend the customization of motorsports tires to various race conditions and enabling cars and drivers to maximize their performance, Bridgestone will realize the evolution of ENLITEN technology more quickly.

For "BCMA," the gallery will feature a mockup of the modules (components) that make up the tire and can actually assemble them. This display allows visitors to experience the manufacturing transformation that supports the "ultimate customization" of "ENLITEN" technology.

3．Evolving "Sustainability Business Model" through global motorsports activities

Bridgestone challenges to establish an original sustainable business model by integrating and linking activities that contribute to sustainability such as carbon neutrality, a circular economy and being nature positive. Bridgestone seeks to accelerate sustainability throughout the value chain where it "produces", "uses" and "renews" tires to raw material again. Evolving the Bridgestone "Sustainability Business Model" through global motorsports activities, Bridgestone will accelerate to transform to our vision of being a "Sustainable Solutions Company" by driving sustainability throughout the value chain of motorsports tires from raw material procurement to recycling technology.

Bridgestone will also showcase activities related to its advancement of recycling technology and its support for natural rubber farms that helps advance sustainability in the natural rubber industry. The gallery will additionally include exhibits with samples of specific efforts to advance the use of recycled and renewable material, such as recovered carbon black and oil derived through pyrolysis of used tires.

Bridgestone has targets to enhance and diversify renewable resources in its motorsports tires by aiming for a ratio that is 65% or more recycled and renewable materials. The company also aims to accelerate its initiatives toward carbon neutrality and a circular economy by pursuing the use of 100% renewable energy in its motorsports tire production plants, taking on the challenge of realizing carbon neutral transportation, and striving to realize chemical recycling.

Through the "Bridgestone E8 Commitment," Bridgestone is committed to helping realize a sustainable society by co-creating value together with future generations, society, its partners, and its customers. The Bridgestone E8 Commitment consists of eight values that serve as the company's axis to drive management while earning the trust of future generations. The company's strategic shift to more endemic global motorsports initiatives is designed to help further this commitment and advance developments towards sustainable mobility innovation.

1. Bridgestone Innovation Gallery
2. Guayule Development of a new source of natural rubber
3. Bridgestone World Solar Challenge（BWSC）
4. BCMA (Bridgestone Commonality Modularity Architecture）
   BCMA, supporting "ultimate customization" consolidates tire parts into three modules and share them among different products, simplifying the supply chain including development and production. It is Bridgestone base technology for manufacturing and R&D which shortens development and production lead time to agilely provide value to customers while also aiming to reduce business cost including environmental impact.
5. The Bridgestone Group established its corporate commitment, the "Bridgestone E8 Commitment," to help it realize its vision: "Toward 2050, Bridgestone continues to provide social value and customer value as a sustainable solutions company." This commitment will serve as the Group's axis to drive management while earning the trust of future generations. The "Bridgestone E8 Commitment" consists of eight uniquely Bridgestone values starting with the letter "E" (Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease, and Empowerment) that the Group will commit to creating through distinctly Bridgestone purposes and processes, together with employees, society, partners, and customers to help realize a sustainable society.