The  Serie 02 is the result of four years of study, 180 million kilometres of tests on the roads of Italy, Germany and Turkey, the testing of 2,500 tyres, the input of a working group of 100 professionals drawn from research and development, marketing, logistics and commercial departments. It is the most important product launch in the history of Prometeon Tyre Group, the only tyre manufacturer in the world fully focused on the Truck & Bus, Agro and OTR sectors.

The Serie 02 is born: the new generation of premium Prometeon tyres with the PIRELLI brand that will arrive on the roads of the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) simultaneously in early April. Initially, there will be five product lines available on the market, for long haul, regional, urban and construction sites use.

"The Serie 02 represents the state of the art of Prometeon and represents best practice in production of tyres for professional use," says Roberto Righi, General Manager of Prometeon Tyre Group. "For the company, it means a generational change of products thanks to our new technologies, focused on the sustainability of the tyres, starting with the use of raw materials and the production process to get to their recovery. This attention to the environment makes our products more sustainable both in the production process as well as in use, because they are able to promote the reduction of CO2 emissions as well as fuel savings – the latter is very important given the current market problems."

Innovation and sustainability were the key targets for Prometeon’s R&D team when developing the new range. It represents the maximum in terms of cost efficiency for professionals in the transport sector and respect for the environment, thanks to the technological solutions developed in Research and Development centers of the company in the name of sustainable innovation.

R&D effort was focused on an increasingly effective management of operating costs, to ensure high mileage on one side and "active sustainability" on the other: longer tyre life and lower rolling resistance, reducing commercial vehicles’ fuel consumption.

There was an intense focus on the compounds and the manufacturing processes to obtain a very balanced product, able to offer the best performance while fully respecting the sustainability principles and with the same safety standards.

Indeed, compared to the previous range, the Serie 02 improves in all performances:

• rolling resistance is on average 18% less for the first five product lines;
• mileage is improved by 10% on average;
• durability is improved by 20% on average and
• even wear is improved by 10% on average.

"In the design and production we focused on formulations and use of renewable materials; on formulations containing sustainable materials and on technological solutions and innovative processes that have allowed us to optimize the weight of the tyres without any compromise in performance,” underlines Alexandre Bregantim, Chief Technical Officer of Prometeon Tyre Group. “In addition, all products can be regrooved and are retreadable, extending the useful life of the tyre.”

The first five product lines of the Serie 02 to arrive on the market are:

• H02 PROFUEL available as 385/55 R 22.5 and 315/70 R 22.5;
• R02 PROFUEL available as 225/75 R 17.5 and 285/70 R 19.5;
• R02 PRO available as 385/65 R 22.5;
• U02 URBAN-e PRO available as 275/70 R 22.5 and 315/60 R 22.5;
• G02 PRO available as 385/65 R 22.5.

With the new series, new nomenclatures make their debut: a letter indicates the application (H for motorway; R for regional; U for urban; and G for construction sites and mixed routes on and on-/off-road). This is followed by the series number, 02; then the type of use is indicated (Profuel for reduced rolling resistance; PRO Trailer dedicated to trailers and semi-trailers; and Urban-e for city buses also electric and hybrid propulsion); and finally the indication of the mounting axle (Steer, Drive and Multiaxle, the latter for steering axles and semi-trailers).

The Prometeon brand appears on all the Serie 02 tyres, with the wording "Prometeon Engineered" to confirm the design and production effort of Prometeon Tyre Group and the technological innovations achieved.

As part of the Serie 02 launch, a new product joins the Prometeon portfolio: the H02 PROFUEL, which is designed for long haul applications and is the first PIRELLI-branded tyre for tractors that is rated A for fuel consumption. An important launch.

The Serie 02 products have the 3PMSF winter marking, are equipped with an RFID sensor and are approved by the major European vehicle manufacturers.

Among the innovations at the heart of the Serie 02 are:

• PROGEA (Pro Grip Environment Approach): this is a new approach to materials, in particular to compounds. Prometeon has chosen to use sustainable materials, both for protecting the health of factory personnel and for a reduced environmental impact, without compromising on the performance of the product in terms of safety (wet grip) and efficiency (rolling resistance).
• SHTB (Super High Tensile Belt): cords are made with high-strength steel, providing high flexibility and prevention of corrosion propagation, for superior integrity and longevity of the casing.
• SWITe (Spiral Wire Technology): the cable of the zero-degree spiral belt has a new geometry and an increased diameter, promoting durability and resistance.
• COBe (Cross Over Bead): the reinforced bead, in combination with the new geometry of the metal threads, gives great flexibility, resistance and high load capacity.
• LEDB (Low Energy Dissipation Belts): innovative configuration of the belt pack to optimise the weight of the tyre and limit energy loss, promoting low rolling resistance and reducing fuel consumption.
• SSRP (Step Shoulder Rib Profile): a new tread shoulder profile promotes the correct distribution of footprint contact pressure, helping to improve even wear and mileage.
• HR4B (High Resistance 4 Belts): the belts structure is designed to maximise casing flexibility and structural resistance of the carcass, helping to improve handling, durability and retreadability.

 

H02 PROFUEL

Designed to provide maximum efficiency in terms of fuel consumption on long hauls, this tyre provides excellent road holding performance and short braking distances on both dry and wet surfaces, even in winter conditions.

All the tyres in this line are rated A for fuel efficiency, B for wet grip and rank among the best-in-class.

Based on calculations made with VECTO (the simulation tool developed by the European Commission used to determine CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of heavy duty vehicles), an articulated truck equipped with 385/55 R 22.5 H02 PROFUEL Steer and 315/70 R 22.5 H02 PROFUEL Drive on the tractor, and 385/55 R 22.5 on the semi-trailer consumes 1.4 liters less per 100 kilometres than a vehicle equipped with the previous product line. For a fleet of 150 trucks travelling 130,000 kilometres a year each, this means 702 fewer tonnes of CO2 are emitted and savings in fuel cost of €465,000 per year (based on the average diesel price of € 1.7/l).

In addition to the materials and technological components common to all 02 Series products, H02 PROFUEL 70 series is equipped with LEDB (Low Energy Dissipation Belts), the innovative configuration of the belt pack designed to optimise the weight of the tyre and contain energy loss (and heat generation), promoting low rolling resistance and, consequently, the reduction of fuel consumption.

The tread designs feature:

• HGE (High Grip Evolution): a Prometeon patent related to the geometry of the grooves, which allows grip performance throughout the full life of the tyre, and low noise generation.
• SSRP (Step Shoulder Rib Profile): a new shoulder profile of the tread (H02 PROFUEL Steer), which allows the correct distribution of footprint contact pressure, therefore promoting even wear and mileage.
• Optimised sipes geometry and distribution to ensure reduced braking distances, and improved traction and grip even in critical winter conditions, while maintaining/ low noise emissions to reduce the environmental impact and improve driving comfort.
• New profile of the shoulder blocks (H02 PROFUEL Drive), which enhances the traction, water drainage and mileage qualities.

The H02 PROFUEL line is designed to equip new vehicles with low CO2 and noise emissions, while maintaining high safety-related performance.

The H02 PROFUEL Steer line, for steering axles, is available from April in the following sizes:

• 385/55 R 22.5 160K (158L);
• 315/70 R 22.5 156 / 150L (154/150M), currently best in class for external rolling noise (67dB).

The PROFUEL H02 Drive line, for drive axles, is available from April as 315/70 R 22.5 154/150L (152/148M).

 

R02 PROFUEL

This is a versatile product line, providing 17.5 and 19.5 tyres for trucks operating on long hauls regional and urban routes, and is designed to provide fuel efficiency and durability.

The tread patterns are designed to provide grip and traction in all seasons and on wet and moderately snow-covered surfaces, as well as to ensure optimal distribution of the footprint (to the benefit of even wear and mileage).

The new geometry of the sidewalls and the increase in the thickness of the tyres, which can be measured with the ISW indicator, provide resistance to impacts and contribute to the tyre’s longer life.

In short, the performance improvements of R02 PROFUEL compared to the previous product line are:

• 20% lower rolling resistance;
• 15% improved acoustic comfort;
• 10% improved grip on wet and snowy surfaces; and
• 10% improved even wear.

Starting from April, the first sizes available on the market are 225/75 R 17.5 129/127M and 285/70 R 19.5 146/144L in the Steer and Drive tread patterns; the range will be completed with further sizes by the end of 2022.

The 285/70 R 19.5 and 225/70 R 17.5 sizes rank among the best in class of premium brands for the European tyre labeling ratings.

Based on calculations made with VECTO, the R02 PROFUEL 285/70 R 19.5 tyres used to equip a 4x2 vehicle allow fuel savings of 0.8 liters per 100 kilometres compared to the previous product line; for a fleet of 50 vehicles, with a mileage of 130,000 kilometres per year each with diesel at an average price of €1.7/l), this equates to 40 fewer tonnes of CO2 emissions and a saving of €88,000 a year in fuel costs.

 

R02 PRO TRAILER

This product line is dedicated to trailers and semi-trailers and has been designed to offer maximum durability, versatility and load capacity.

The technologies, the tread pattern and the compounds make it the optimal product for both long-distance motorway and regional applications in all climate conditions, with important performance improvements compared to the previous line:

• 15% improved mileage;
• 20% improved tear resistance and integrity; and
• 15% improved even wear.

In addition to the materials and technological components common to all the 02 Series products (including the SWITe [Spiral Wire Technology] that provides sturdiness to the product), the R02 PRO TRAILER makes use of HR4B (High Resistance 4 Belts), a belt pack configuration designed to maximise the flexibility and structural strength of the carcass, helping to improve handling, durability and retreadability.

The tyre tread is characterised by:

• large sizing and deep grooves to promote water drainage and wet braking performance;
• sturdy shoulders to promote resistance to lateral drag and tread integrity and
• optimal full/empty balance, improving even wear and mileage.

The 385/65 R 22.5 164K (158L) size, available from April, is rated B for fuel efficiency, B for wet grip and A (70dB) for external rolling noise.

 

U02 URBAN-e PRO MULTIAXLE

By 2025, nearly half of the city buses in service around the world will be electric: that’s a total of 1.2 million electric buses.

U02 URBAN-e PRO Multiaxle satisfies the needs of the new generation of electric buses thanks to a load capacity of up to 8 tonnes per axle: this allows the use of long-range batteries on a bus without compromising the number of passengers.

The new product line features a 10% lower rolling resistance compared to the previous product and ranks among the best in class, rated B for energy efficiency. U02 URBAN-e PRO Multiaxle helps to increase the battery autonomy of city buses, to reduce its charging cycles for fully electric vehicles and reduce CO₂ emissions.

In line with the evolution of hybrid and electric vehicles for urban use, characterised by frequent stop and starts, the new product reduces operating costs, as well as offering a higher comfort level, even wear and reduced noise generation (69dB in size 275/70 R 22.5), with excellent safety performance.

U02 URBAN-e PRO Multiaxle is suitable for equipping all axes. The M+S and 3PMSF markings, together with a B rating for wet grip, provide a high level of performance even in winter conditions.

The introduction of the new SWITe technology and the reinforced structure allow an increased load capacity, while improving retreadability. The reinforced sidewall profile and the new tread geometry are designed to provide excellent impact resistance and high traction throughout the full life cycle, and also take into account the high torque transmitted by electric engines through the tyres.

The new line is available from March in the sizes:

• 275/70 R 22.5 152/148 J rated B for fuel efficiency and wet grip, and A (69dB) for external rolling noise;
• 315/60 R 22.5 156 / 150J rated B (best in class on the market) for fuel efficiency and wet grip, and A (72dB) for external rolling noise.

 

G02 PRO MULTIAXLE

This product line is dedicated to steering axles and semi-trailers of vehicles used on construction sites and on mixed on and on-/off-routes, and has been designed to offer maximum durability, load capacity (with increase up to 10 tonnes per axle) and high mileage even in severe applications.

The technological innovations in the structure, compounds and tread pattern ensure performance improvements compared to the previous line:

•  10% improved mileage;
• 20% improved integrity and
• 15% improved tearing resistance and stone rejection.

In addition to the materials and technological components common to all the 02 Series products, G02 PRO MULTIAXLE features HR4B (High Resistance 4 Belts), a belt pack configuration designed to maximise the carcass’s flexibility and structural resistance to impacts, allowing greater durability and retreadability.

The tread is characterised by:

• optimised grooves geometry to prevent stone trapping, thus providing better durability and retreadability;
• sturdy tread pattern with inserts between the blocks to reduce tread movement and enhance regular wear without compromises in terms of traction and grip; and
• optimised tread pattern, deep grooves and optimal balance of land to sea ratio to promote road holding and traction on asphalted and unpaved surfaces and on dry and wet surfaces.

Size 385/65 R 22.5 164K (158L), available from April, is rated C for fuel efficiency, B for wet grip and B (73dB) for external rolling noise.