Michelin Innovation Lab Turns Sombrero Prototype into OYA Urban Tree

Michelin and Scale-Up Booster have formed a partnership to accelerate OYA Urban Tree, an intelligent inflatable shade system developed from Michelin Innovation Lab research. The project follows public trials in Toulouse and is aimed at cities and event organisers facing rising heat risks. Michelin says the start-up will target market launch and international deployment during 2026.

From prototype to start-up

OYA Urban Tree has been developed from Michelin’s Sombrero prototype, which was tested twice in Toulouse. The system uses a large inflatable structure to create more than 260 square metres of shade in public or event spaces.

The approach is designed for locations where fixed infrastructure or urban planting may be difficult. That makes the product relevant to local authorities, venue operators and transport-linked public spaces that need temporary or reversible heat-mitigation measures.

Michelin’s role is not tyre-specific, but the link to the tyre industry is still relevant. The project draws on the group’s wider expertise in materials, flexible structures, sustainable design and industrial performance. It also shows how tyre manufacturers are increasingly applying technical knowledge beyond conventional tyre production.

Tyre News has recently reported on Michelin’s broader innovation and sustainability activity, including its use of recovered carbon black in Le Mans tyres and its partnership with Murfitts on tyre pyrolysis at Stoke-on-Trent.

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Why urban heat matters

The commercial case for OYA Urban Tree sits within a wider climate-adaptation trend. The UK Climate Change Committee said in May 2026 that increasingly extreme and frequent heatwaves are already the greatest climate-related health risk in the UK.

European policy bodies have also highlighted the need for cities to adapt to heatwaves and other climate impacts, with more than 74% of Europe’s population living in urban areas.

In practice, this gives Michelin’s project a clear non-tyre market: civic cooling, public-event management and outdoor infrastructure. The editorial value is in Michelin’s innovation transfer, rather than the company’s fundraising message.

Scale-Up Booster to support commercial development

Michelin has selected Scale-Up Booster to help structure OYA Urban Tree as an industrial start-up. The work will focus on industrialisation, business modelling and commercial scale-up.

Olivier Vuichard, Head of Innovation at Michelin, said Scale-Up Booster had given the prototype “real entrepreneurial substance” by combining industrial vision, business structuring and international strategy.

Scale-Up Booster co-founders Albert Szulman and Michel Ktitareff said OYA addresses a global need by helping cities and events adapt to extreme heat. They said the ambition is to accelerate deployment, starting with Europe and the United States.

The start-up is also beginning a fundraising round to support industrialisation and commercial deployment. Michelin says the target is a market launch from summer 2026, with international deployment beginning before the end of the year.

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An adjacent story for the tyre trade

For tyre retailers, wholesalers and fleet specialists, OYA Urban Tree is not a direct operating issue. However, it reflects a wider shift among major tyre manufacturers towards materials-led diversification, circular economy projects and climate-adaptation technologies.

That context matters because the sector’s largest manufacturers are increasingly judged on industrial capability beyond tyres alone. Recent Tyre News reporting has also covered Michelin’s role in recycled PET tyre materials and sustainable tyre development, showing how innovation pipelines are widening across the industry.

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Tagged with: Michelin, OYA Urban Tree, Michelin Innovation Lab, Scale-Up Booster, urban heat, climate adaptation, inflatable structures, sustainable design, city infrastructure, materials innovation

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