The one-week countdown has begun! Tire Technology Expo 2026 is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best yet. Held on March 3, 4 & 5 at the Deutsche Messe in Hannover, Germany, the show includes a superb line-up of exhibitors, conference topics and speakers, as well as a range of accredited short courses, the official Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence, and ample opportunities for peer-to-peer networking. Register for your free fast-track exhibition entry pass here.
The exhibition
Tire Technology Expo is Europe’s most focused gathering of tire design, development and manufacturing professionals – from raw material formulation to final production. With over 240 industry-leading exhibitors, the event offers unparalleled access to the specialists, technologies and innovations shaping the future of tire design, performance, sustainability and manufacturing.
Exhibitor highlights include the latest in smart tire solutions; chemicals; autonomy in the form of robots and systems; recycled and sustainable materials; EV tire technology; dynamic mechanical analyzers (DMAs); cord weaving; and circular economy standards.
Siemens Digital Industries is driving digital and sustainable transformation in the process and manufacturing sectors. At this year’s expo, the company will showcase solutions for safe and efficient tire production, including software-defined and generative-AI-driven automation capable of handling tasks without predefined processes.
ContiBladders, a provider of high-quality tire bladders, will be at the expo to tell visitors how it supports tire manufacturing worldwide through its durable, flexible and sustainable products. Backed by Continental’s expertise gained in plants producing over 150 million tires annually, the company develops optimized bladder designs that improve tire shaping and reduce scrap. ContiBladders invests in advanced production technologies, including innovative injection systems, and leverages R&D tools such as finite element method (FEM) analysis to deliver tailored solutions. With manufacturing facilities on three continents, global inventory and on-site technical support, the company ensures timely delivery and responsive service.
Modern tires incorporate up to 50 raw materials, including growing volumes of high-quality recyclates such as recovered carbon black and refined oils from end-of-life tires. Zeppelin Systems will be in Hannover to demonstrate how modular storage, gentle pneumatic conveying and precise dosing systems simplify this complexity while ensuring accurate material handling. Its advanced recycling technologies return premium recyclates to production, helping to reduce emissions and reliance on virgin resources.
The awards
Key industry achievements will be recognized during a live presentation of the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence. This is the world’s biggest celebration of endeavor in tire development and manufacturing, covering all aspects of the modern tire business, with awards in 11 categories.
The awards aim to celebrate innovation, sustainability and excellence across the tire industry. From groundbreaking research to environmental initiatives, they recognize the individuals, companies and technologies shaping the future of tire design, manufacturing and performance. Find out more about the TTI Awards here.
The conference
The Tire Technology Expo Conference is the tire industry’s premier international event. Held over three days, it attracts more than 165 expert speakers and a global audience of scientists, engineers, academics and industry professionals. The event offers a dynamic program of presentations and panel discussions focused on the latest advances in tire design, manufacturing, testing, materials innovation and sustainability.
Tire Technology International’s editor-in-chief, Matt Ross, has selected his highlights from the packed program.
One of the presentations he is looking forward to is Tires for autonomous vehicles – current scenario and future technical opportunities for next-generation AVs by Andreas Topp, VP of platform development and industrialization at Continental Reifen. The presentation will look at the transition of autonomous vehicles (AVs) from pilot projects to scaled commercial operations. It will highlight the diversity of the AV ecosystem, which includes purpose-built robotaxis as well as conventional passenger vehicles retrofitted with autonomous systems.
“Given how close we might be to widespread autonomous vehicle implementation, there’s never been a better time for a look at the state of play for tires on AVs, as well as some exploration of what future opportunities might exist for the tire’s role in systems and operations,” said Ross. “After all, as the old adage goes, no matter who’s driving, the tires remain the only touchpoint between the vehicle and the road.”
Another highly anticipated session is Ongoing transformation of the global tire industry by David Shaw, the CEO of Tire Industry Research. The paper will examine structural changes across the global tire sector and provide an outlook for the future. It will discuss a rise in trade barriers, with multiple countries investigating tires manufactured in China. In response, leading Chinese tire manufacturers have expanded production capacity internationally and accelerated industry consolidation.
One more notable session is Industry’s first concept tire with renewable functional fillers, presented by Florian Diehl, director of sales at UPM Biochemicals and Anne Ojala, senior manager of material development at Nokian Tyres. They will discuss the Nokian Tyres Green Step Ligna concept tire, which replaces fossil carbon black in the sidewall with UPM’s BioMotion Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF), raising renewable and recycled content to 60 wt% and advancing sustainable tire design. “We’ve followed this project for some time now, and have covered it extensively in the magazine, so I’m making sure I find some time to hear from the UPM and Nokian Tyres experts about the Green Step Ligna concept tire,” Ross stated.
Short courses
Four short courses will be held concurrently with the exhibition and conference.
The University of Akron Tire Mechanics is a four-day short course held on March 2-5. Starting the day before the exhibition opens, it will provide engineers and scientists with an in-depth, intense study of the latest developments surrounding tire engineering.
The Tire Mathematical Modeling short course (March 2-4) will be led by Mohammad Behroozi (Zoox/Amazon) and Georgios Mavros (Loughborough University). The course covers computer modeling of tires in a full vehicle system and is aimed at engineers and researchers working in industry or academia.
The one-day Tire Reinforcement – Materials, Applications and Fatigue Testing short course (March 2) will provide an understanding of the use of materials and constructions for rubber reinforcement in the tire.
The Tire Regulations short course (March 2) will give attendees a comprehensive understanding of current and upcoming tire regulations, including EU and UNECE frameworks, type approval processes and sustainability-related legislation.
Please visit www.tiretechnology-expo.com for the full exhibitor list, conference program and short courses schedule, and to register for your free exhibition entry pass. You can read Tire Technology International’s full show preview here
