SMX (Security Matters) plc announced that, continuing its collaboration with Continental, they are enabling automotive companies the ability to identify and verify ethical sourcing of natural rubber and to demonstrate a higher level of responsibility and certification of premium natural rubber products, which SMX believes can enable a smarter rubber sorting and recycling capability.

In a recent trial at ContiTech, one of Continental’s group sectors in Hanover, Germany, the teams said they were able to 100% identify (through blind tests) the “marked” and “unmarked” natural rubber in engine mounts supplied by Continental for a global automotive company without affecting the material properties and the product performance. 

The trial successfully embedded SMX’s marking system in the natural rubber supplied by Continental, into an engine mount, providing origin authentication of the sustainable raw material and demonstrating its durability, full traceability and repeatability through the production process from raw material to final product and recycle and reuse, according to SMX.