Issue Multipurpose Wheels

Summary

Multipurpose Wheels asks whether the next wave of car innovation could come from the wheels. It envisions a series of advances, from magnetic levitation and drone-like designs to replacements for rubber tyres and new ideas about what wheels on a car should do. The problem is that every time a vehicle accelerates, brakes or turns, its tyres shed particles that enter the air, run off with rainwater and build up in waterways, soil and farmland. Because this pollution does not depend on fuel type, even fully electric vehicles still produce it, and about six million tonnes of tyre wear particles are released worldwide each year, roughly the rubber of 600 million tyres. Cleaner urban air and new paths for advanced materials are the expected benefits, while higher cost and complexity and doubts over performance, safety and durability could slow adoption.