Tyre emissions – the environmental elephant in the room

As CEO of a company specialising in vehicle emissions, Nick Molden believes that in many countries tyres are becoming the biggest source of emissions from in-use vehicles. Speaking in a new interview on the Emissions Analytics’ YouTube page, Nick says: “Tyres are the great unappreciated source of vehicle pollution, threatening soil, water and air quality.”

After testing the real-world tailpipe emissions of hundreds of vehicles all over the globe, and more recently analysing emissions from over 500 different tyres, staff at Emissions Analytics are in a good position to provide informed, independent comment on vehicular pollution. During the interview, Nick explains how electrification is dramatically improving tailpipe emissions, but that electric vehicles are currently around 25% heavier, and this translates into 25% greater emissions from tyres.

“One of the main dilemmas,” Nick explains in the interview, “is that tyres shed around 100 mg for every kilometre travelled, which takes the form of both microplastics and ultrafine nanoscale particles which are so fine that they stay in the air for longer, can travel deeper into the lungs, and can easily pass into the blood and into the brain.”

One of the more concerning insights to emerge from Emissions Analytics’ work is that tyre emissions are dominated by particulates that are so small that they are currently unregulated. As a consequence, local authorities, for example, might grade air quality as ‘good’ because levels of PM10 or PM 2.5 are low, but this may completely ignore the hazard posed by high levels of ultrafine tyre emissions.

During the interview, in addition to the threat posed by particulates, Nick explains how the chemical constituents of tyre emissions can be toxic, with little known about their effects or behaviour in soil, water or the air. He therefore highlights the urgent need for more research into the health and environmental effects of tyre pollution. This, he explains, is vitally important, and urges a collaborative approach between academia, industry and the regulators. To encourage this partnership, Emissions Analytics produces a quarterly summary of research into tyre emissions and sustainability - known as Tyre Insights. The company also organises the Tyre Emissions & Sustainability 2026 international conferences where academia, industry and regulators come together to exchange ideas and best practice.