Key Takeaways
- Clevite Elastomers, part of Tenneco’s Performance Solutions group, has joined the TARDISS project to support U.S. natural rubber innovation.
- The NSF-funded project is led by The Ohio State University with a $26 million, 5-year grant.
- The initiative aims to reduce U.S. dependence on imported rubber, primarily sourced from Southeast Asia.
- Research focuses on crops like guayule, Russian dandelion, and mountain gum as alternative rubber sources.
- Clevite Elastomers will contribute testing and application insights for commercial use of domestic rubber.
Consortium Targets U.S. Rubber Supply Chain Resilience
Clevite Elastomers, a global supplier of elastomeric components for reducing noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) in vehicles and transportation systems, has joined the Transformation of American Rubber through Domestic Innovation for Supply Security (TARDISS) project. The multi-institutional research initiative, led by The Ohio State University and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), aims to strengthen domestic rubber supply chains through agricultural innovation.
With engineering labs and manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Indiana, Mexico, and China, Clevite Elastomers is a significant consumer of natural rubber, which is currently sourced predominantly from countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Agricultural Innovation at the Center of the TARDISS Project
The TARDISS initiative has received a $26 million grant from the NSF to support research into producing natural rubber from U.S.-grown crops. These include guayule (a desert shrub), Russian dandelion, and mountain gum. The Ohio State College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences is coordinating the research, in partnership with institutions such as Case Western Reserve University, Caltech, North Carolina State University, Texas Tech University, UC Merced, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Tenneco’s Executive Vice President Cash Mahesh noted, “The TARDISS project addresses supply chain integrity head-on by studying how America can produce natural rubber at scale to serve domestic manufacturers.”
Industry Role and Next Steps For Clevite Elastomers
Clevite Elastomers will contribute to the project by evaluating the performance of domestically produced natural rubber in actual product manufacturing. The company’s involvement is expected to help validate the potential of U.S.-grown rubber crops for large-scale commercial use, particularly in transportation and industrial sectors.
John Kinnick, Vice President and General Manager at Clevite Elastomers, emphasized the importance of the effort, stating: “It is a privilege to work alongside these distinguished partners in a project that could transform the natural rubber supply chain.”
