The Bibendum Challenge is a unique event, staged by Michelin to showcase new technologies that push the envelope of sustainable mobility. Wait. Let me explain.

Over the last century, the world has become reliant on personal as well as commercial transport over great distances – transport that depends on fossil fuels. Michelin is encouraging alternatives that would allow us to sustain our current position and keep pace with world population and economic expansion, without running out of global resources.

The Challenge events have been staged since 1998 at irregular intervals and at various venues around the world. The most recent was in Paris in June, where there was a broad array of technologies on display – and in competitive testing – that included electric, hybrid, diesel and hydrogen-fueled technologies in passenger cars and buses. There were trucks, too, showcasing compressed natural gas and electrical hybrid alternative propulsion, next-generation emissions solutions and the benefits of weight savings – including of course, Michelin's X-One ultra-low-profile, single-wide tires.

As might be expected, Renault was prominent in its home capital. Its two medium-duty trucks included a garbage packer fueled by compressed natural gas and a prototype electrical distribution truck. The natural gas power is a production option from Renault. The company is delivering to utilities, including the show vehicle from the Marie de Paris. The electric truck is battery-driven with a restricted range, but it is a development vehicle. The next generation will be better, said the Renault representative, and the company is serious in its development of pure electricals.

Scania, the Swedish truckmaker, made its mark with a pair of R420 heavy trucks demonstrating the impact of specifications on fuel economy. The back-to-back testing of different options is very simple with the European vertically integrated powertrains, because the two heavies differed only in color and the options.

The benefits of light weight were demonstrated in a static trailer display, the most impressive being a tri-axle flatbed by the Dutch company ComposiTrailer. As the name suggests, it is a composite, in this case a plastic composite, weighing just 8,700 pounds. This is as much as 6,600 pounds lighter than a comparative European trailer built from steel. (Interestingly, the technology and materials behind this ComposiTrailer are shared with the Martin Marietta trailers that are making small inroads in the trash market here in the U.S.) The nearly 50 percent weight savings add up to a 10 percent greater payload potential, translating into less fuel used for every pound of freight, or 10 percent fewer trucks on the highway.

Another lightweight design was from Kempf Fahrzeugbau, a German manufacturer with an aluminum dump that offered a 4,400-pound weight reduction – equivalent to a 7 percent improvement in payload or a 7 percent reduction in fuel use in a less-than-truckload operation.

Sitting alongside the trailers was a Freightliner Columbia with German license plates, equipped with Michelin's X-Ones. The tires are still somewhat unique to North America but are to debut in Europe soon. Other than that, the Freightliner appeared to be stock, unlike the exhibit at the Bibendum Challenge in Sonoma, Calif., three years ago. That Freightliner had a fuel-cell-powered sleeper heater/air conditioner, which is still under development by Freightliner and its suppliers as well as by climate-condition specialist Webasto in its German R&D center.

Our November issue will focus on the globalization of the trucking industry. There, we'll take an in-depth look at the Bibendum Challenge series and the developments that have been showcased over the eight-year history of the event.