Journey of more than 130 years of innovation

“Michelin’s innovative power and expertise have profoundly changed the history of mobility. Today, these foundations enable us to meet new challenges in new areas and activities that change lives,” said Florent Menegaux, Chairman of the Michelin Group.

With over 130 years of pioneering design and materials, Michelin is uniquely positioned to make a decisive contribution to human progress and a more sustainable world. What has Michelin been doing to keep evolving for over a century, and what is behind these innovations?

The answer is that Michelin’s vision for the future is based on a strong belief: “It’s all about sustainability.” The MiLAW project is part of Michelin’s larger goal – exploring the sustainability space.

MiLAW - a breakthrough in space exploration

Michelin is currently focusing on developing technology in the field of lunar exploration with the MiLAW (Michelin Lunar Airless Wheel) project, which is part of NASA's Artemis Phase 1 program.

Leveraging on previous collaborations with NASA, Michelin combines its expertise in air technology and high-tech materials (such as Michelin UPTIS and Tweel tires), to create specialized airless wheels for lunar rovers. With the ambition of paving the way for a long-term human presence on the Moon, and even Mars, in the future.

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Michelin Lunar Airless Wheel. Photo: Michelin

The premise for realizing the above goals is to solve the immediate problems: creating a “lunar wheel” with the ability to operate stably in harsh weather conditions, such as temperatures ranging from -243 degrees Celsius to over 100 degrees Celsius, or being affected by solar radiation and galactic radiation. The MiLAW wheel focuses on reducing rolling resistance on the regolith surface (lunar soil), helping the rover move effectively with a larger operating range, saving battery power and resources.

The MiLAW project is a clear demonstration of Michelin's ambition to push technological boundaries to contribute to the development of mobility, not only on Earth but also in space.

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Michelin Lunar Airless Wheel used for the lunar rover. Photo: Michelin

More importantly, Michelin is proactively shaping the future by focusing on improving current products, while pioneering the exploration and development of new technologies, towards a greener, safer and more efficient mobility future for everyone.

Based on its technological know-how in the field of polymer composites, Michelin not only innovates technology to create high-quality tire products and components for practical applications in areas with high technological content requirements such as: transportation, construction, aviation, low-carbon energy, and medicine.

The dedication to each product as well as the comprehensive understanding of customer needs has helped Michelin achieve the most perfect experiences. This is demonstrated from providing connection solutions for businesses based on collected data and applying AI technology to recommending excellent restaurants and hotels selected by the MICHELIN Guide.

(Source: Michelin)