Michelin is today the only manufacturer to provide tyres for the fuel-cell vehicles developed by Green GT. However, the scope of this technologically-advanced partnership between the high-performance clean-car specialist and the Clermont-Ferrand based mobility expert extends well beyond that.
In purely tyre terms, the joint-programme involving Michelin and Green GT began in March, just prior to the 2016 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. In reality, though, Michelin has been involved in the development of the Green GT H2 and H2 Speed for much longer than that, through SymbioFCell.
“Michelin’s core activity, which is to promote mobility, goes much further than merely making tyres,” says Valérie Bouillon-Delporte, head of Michelin’s fuel-cell innovation activities. “For two years, Michelin has had a 33-percent stake in SymbioFCell. It is also a technical partner of the Green GT programme through the contribution it makes to the development of fuel cells. Michelin is actively involved in the fuel-cell ecosystem and we continue to invest in the future of mobility.”
Since the Michelin brand was founded in 1889, Michelin has always played an avant-garde role in the automotive industry. In 1996, four years after the launch of the first tyre to contribute to enhanced fuel economy, namely the MICHELIN Energy MXN, the visionary François Michelin decided to open a research centre dedicated entirely to mobility. Two years later, the first Michelin Challenge Bibendum was organised. This event enjoys a truly global reach and brings to together the chief stakeholders in the world of sustainable mobility. That inaugural event was followed by several more across the planet, with a special focus on fuel cells on which the Group has been working since the Noughties.
