NOKIAN RENKAAT OYJ

Their core work

Nokian Tyres is a Finnish tyre manufacturer with a strong heritage in winter and all-season tyres for Nordic and harsh-climate markets. In EU research, they participate as an industrial partner bringing real-world product validation and manufacturing-scale expertise to technology projects at the intersection of tyres, electronics, and electromobility. Their H2020 footprint reveals a strategic interest in embedding sensors and electronics into tyre systems, and in connecting tyre performance data to vehicle-to-grid energy networks and smart mobility platforms. They are one of the very few tyre manufacturers engaged in European digital research, positioning them as an unusual but valuable industrial anchor in consortia developing next-generation mobility technology.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first project (2017–2021) was rooted in semiconductor packaging — SiP, FOWLP, eWLB — which is the foundational electronics manufacturing know-how needed to embed miniaturised sensors and electronics into physical products like tyres. By 2021, their second project shifted decisively toward smart mobility outcomes: electric vehicles, smart grids, V2G, autonomous driving, and energy harvesting, all framed around the concept of the "smart tyre." The trajectory is coherent: early groundwork in how to manufacture embedded electronics, followed by applied deployment of that capability in the electromobility domain.

Nokian Tyres is moving toward positioning the tyre itself as an active node in the smart mobility infrastructure — harvesting energy, feeding grid data, and supporting autonomous vehicle perception — rather than a passive mechanical component.

How they like to work

Nokian Tyres has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, across both projects — consistent with a large industrial company using EU research to scout and validate emerging technologies rather than to lead research agendas. Their 59 unique partners across just 2 projects indicates they joined large, multi-stakeholder Innovation Actions, where they likely contribute product-level validation, real-world testing environments, and manufacturing insight rather than basic research. Working with them likely means access to tyre-testing infrastructure and industrial product feedback cycles, but they will not drive project management.

Despite only 2 projects, Nokian Tyres has connected with 59 unique partners across 12 countries, reflecting participation in large pan-European Innovation Action consortia. Their network likely spans semiconductor firms, automotive OEMs, energy technology companies, and ICT research institutes.

What sets them apart

Nokian Tyres is one of the only tyre manufacturers visible in the H2020 Digital/ICT pillar, which makes them a rare industrial bridge between the physical mobility layer (tyres, road contact, vehicle dynamics) and the digital smart mobility stack (EVs, V2G, autonomous sensors). Any consortium working on smart vehicles, road infrastructure data, or EV energy management that needs a credible tyre industry partner with actual manufacturing capability would find few alternatives. Their Finnish base also brings strong Nordic winter-mobility context, relevant for any project touching cold-climate EV performance or road safety sensing.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Energy ECS
  Directly aligns with Nokian Tyres' core business and future strategy, covering smart tyres, EV charging, V2G, autonomous driving, and energy harvesting — the most forward-looking project in their portfolio.
• EuroPAT-MASIP
  Reveals the less-obvious electronics manufacturing depth behind their smart tyre ambitions, with the highest EC funding of the two projects (EUR 155,500) and a focus on SiP packaging relevant to miniaturised tyre sensors.