Italy’s Versalis has agreed with US tire manufacturer Bridgestone Americas to research and develop a technology package to commercialize the guayule plant as a source of production for natural rubber production and renewable chemicals.

The agreement combines Versalis’ research on the shrub, which is native to the deserts of northern Mexico and southwestern USA, with Bridgestone’s position in guayule agriculture and production technologies.

The companies are seeking to develop proprietary, highly productive varieties of guayule using the latest genetic technologies. Process technologies for the genetically enhanced forms of the plant will be optimized at Bridgestone’s bio-rubber research center in Mesa, Arizona, which opened in September 2014.

Versalis will lead development activities to enhance the value of guayule production for both rubber and non-rubber components, such as resins for adhesives and wood protection. The company added that the crop’s bagasse, or by-product, has also shown promising performance as a feedstock for producing industrial sugars for biofuels or chemical precursors.

The subsidiary of Italy’s state-owned Eni group established a three-year research project with Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli in 2013 to develop guayule-based tires. Pirelli announced in December 2015 that it had produced its first ultra-high performance tire containing natural rubber from the plant.