Michelin and four academic partners have inaugurated I-TireLab, a joint research laboratory involving French institutions and focused on tire technology, manufacturing processes and applications for flexible composites. The partners are the University of Poitiers, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble INP – UGA and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).
The project represents a total investment of about €4.5 million over four years. It is intended to strengthen collaboration between academic research and industrial application by combining data analysis, mathematical modeling and experimentation.
The laboratory will focus on four research areas. The first is tire-condition monitoring, with researchers seeking real-time estimates of tire wear and grip from data generated by existing onboard vehicle sensors. The aim is to assess tire condition without adding specialized equipment.
A second area concerns vehicle control. Researchers plan to study how information about tire condition and grip can be incorporated into control systems, with the objective of optimizing braking performance and improving vehicle stability and efficiency.
The third area addresses 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 reducing raw-material waste and energy consumption.
The fourth area examines how flexible materials affect air and water flows around objects. Researchers are developing control methods that can alter the shape of components to modify the surrounding flows.
The laboratory will give researchers access to industrial facilities, demonstrators and testing environments so methods can be evaluated under near-real-world conditions. Findings could eventually contribute to future Michelin innovation projects.
One planned application involves Michelin Touch Intelligence, a tire digital twin introduced by Michelin in May 2026. The technology combines vehicle-sensor data with Michelin models to estimate tire pressure, wear, load and grip in real time without additional sensors, and is designed to work across vehicle brands and models.
Research into flexible composites could also support Wisamo, Michelin’s inflatable and retractable automated wingsail for ships. The system uses wind to supplement vessel propulsion and reduce fuel consumption. Michelin said the first sail is in the delivery phase.
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 will provide theoretical and methodological expertise to develop and validate new approaches.
The collaboration will also support training for 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 partnership builds on existing collaboration between Michelin and the academic teams and establishes a longer-term framework for converting data into knowledge and practical solutions.