EFRE Project Supports Development of Digital Twins for Tires

New Research Center at Fraunhofer ITWM – Tire Simulations for Sustainable Mobility

Press Release / September 23, 2025

Digital Twins are considered a key technology in many industrial processes, including the virtual development process for tires. Their use makes it possible to minimize tire abrasion, wear, and noise generation as early as the product design stage. To further develop these technologies, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, with support from the EU and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is building a laboratory with modern testing facilities for tires in a specially constructed technical center as part of an ERDF program. The institute in Kaiserslautern is thus laying the foundation for precise simulations and sustainable innovations in tire research.

In order to further advance the development of modern simulation software and reliably validate complex models, Fraunhofer ITWM is also investing heavily in testing facilities. A modern technical center building is therefore being constructed at the Kaiserslautern site, which houses workshops, laboratories, and testing facilities in the future. The focus here will be on characterizing and testing different materials – key components for creating Digital Twins.

The technical center building itself is financed by the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Science and Health, while the experimental equipment described above is supported by the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economics. The latter project is scheduled to run for two years, with total expenditure amounting to around 8 million euros and a funding rate of 50 percent. In total, the Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture, and Viticulture is providing around 4 million euros from EU funds (approximately 3.2 million euros) and state funds (approximately 0.8 million euros).

Digital Twins are comprehensive data sets of real objects that are used for simulations and tests in virtual environments. An important example of their application: In order to realistically simulate the behavior of tires under various conditions, relevant material and abrasion data must be collected on test benches. With its new testing facilities, which collect the required data with precision, Fraunhofer ITWM is laying the foundation for realistic digital models and more powerful simulation software.

Tires as an Underestimated Source of Emissions: Models for Less Abrasion

The automotive industry is undergoing radical change, but tires remain an indispensable component of mobility for the future – regardless of the drive system. When it comes to sustainability and environmental protection, current changes in the industry have so far focused primarily on vehicle propulsion in order to reduce CO₂ and particulate emissions. Especially in the case of electric vehicles, for which demand is growing, tires are increasingly coming into focus as one of the few remaining sources of emissions.

© Fraunhofer ITWM
Freude im neuen Forschungszentrum REmis: Staatssekretär Andy Becht übergibt Förderbescheid an Bereichsleiter Klaus Dreßler.

»Until now, so-called non-exhaust emissions – which include brake dust and tire abrasion – have been given less consideration in sustainability assessments,« says Dr. Klaus Dreßler, head of the division »Mathematics for Vehicle Engineering«. »Our models for tires enable precise simulation. We analyze and simulate the influence of tire design, the materials used, and the road surface.«. With a digital twin of the tire, Fraunhofer ITWM supports companies in developing new designs that offer high mileage, are adapted to the relevant environment, and at the same time remain more wear-resistant and sustainable.

In the institute's division »Mathematics for Vehicle Engineering«, the focus has been on research topics such as vehicle mobility and energy efficiency for several years. The team is conducting particularly intensive research into the use of simulation and artificial intelligence, for example for validating sensors in the context of autonomous driving. Another focus is on simulation models for tires. Among other things, the successful software tool »CDTire« was developed here, which is already in widespread use in the tire and automotive industries.

Strengthening Rhineland-Palatinate as a Center for Research

The institute is funded by the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture as part of the ERDF program for the establishment and expansion of application-oriented research and development infrastructures. State Secretary Andy Becht emphasizes: »By investing in state-of-the-art research facilities, we are strengthening Rhineland-Palatinate as a location for innovation and making an important contribution to sustainable mobility. The new center builds a bridge between the tire and automotive industries by combining scientific excellence with industrial application.«

In the future, the research center contributes to making mobility more efficient and environmentally friendly. »With the new technical center and the planned tire test bench, we are creating a forward-looking infrastructure that will be used in the long term to research and optimize tire properties and their emissions«, says Prof. Dr. Anita Schöbel, director of the Fraunhofer ITWM. »As part of the EFRE project, we at Fraunhofer ITWM are thus providing an important impetus for sustainable innovations in tire development.«

In addition to tire design, the technical center is also to be used for characterizing various materials and offers space for further cross-departmental research projects that are already in the planning stage.