Michelin and four academic partners have inaugurated a joint research laboratory, I-TireLab, aimed at advancing tire technology, improving manufacturing processes and developing new applications for flexible composites.
The partnership brings together the French tire maker with the University of Poitiers, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble INP – UGA and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Announced on Nov. 4, the project represents a total investment of approximately €4.5 million over four years and is intended to strengthen links between academic research and industrial application by combining data analysis, mathematical modeling and experimentation.
Four research priorities
The laboratory will concentrate on four areas: monitoring tire conditions, improving vehicle control systems, optimizing rubber manufacturing and exploring new applications for flexible materials.
- Tire condition monitoring. One priority is developing real-time estimates of tire wear and grip from data supplied by sensors already fitted to vehicles, with the aim of assessing tire condition without additional specialized equipment.
- Vehicle control. Researchers plan to study how tire condition and grip information can be fed into vehicle control systems, with the objective of optimizing braking performance and improving vehicle stability and efficiency.
- Rubber manufacturing. Teams are developing simulation and control tools to help manufacturers plan equipment operations and optimize production settings while maintaining consistent rubber quality and cutting raw material waste and energy consumption.
- Flexible materials. The fourth area will examine how flexible materials influence air and water flows around objects, with researchers developing control methods that change the shape of components to modify the surrounding flows.
Industrial test access
I-TireLab will give researchers access to industrial facilities, demonstrators and testing environments so their methods can be evaluated under near-real-world conditions. Michelin said the findings could eventually contribute to future innovation projects.
One planned application involves Michelin Touch Intelligence, a tire digital twin introduced by the company in May 2026. The technology combines vehicle sensor data with Michelin models to estimate tire pressure, wear, load and grip in real time without extra sensors, and is designed to work across vehicle brands and models.
Work on flexible composites could also support Wisamo, Michelin's inflatable and retractable automated wingsail for ships, which uses wind to supplement vessel propulsion and reduce fuel consumption. According to the company, the system's first sail is in the delivery phase.
Division of roles and training
Philippe Jacquin, Michelin's general manager and director of research and development, said the partnership would help translate scientific research into practical innovations involving tires, manufacturing and tire-vehicle interactions. Michelin will contribute expertise in tire simulation, materials, industrial processes and product-use data, while the academic partners provide theoretical and methodological know-how to develop and validate new approaches.
The collaboration will also support the training of young researchers working across fundamental research, experimentation and industrial applications. Guillaume Mercère, director of I-TireLab, and co-directors John Martinez-Molina and Thibault Dairay said the initiative would bring researchers, engineers and young scientists together to improve mobility safety, manufacturing processes and flexible-material applications.
The laboratory builds on existing collaboration between Michelin and the academic research teams, setting up a longer-term framework for converting data into knowledge and practical solutions.