Claire Fauvarque Nuytten (X 2009), specialist in elastomer processes at Michelin, receives the 2024 Pierre Faurre Prize

On March 26, 2025, Claire Fauvarque Nuytten was awarded the 2024 Pierre Faurre prize by Jean-Paul Cottet (class X 1974), Executive Director of École Polytechnique Foundation. A graduate of École Polytechnique (class X 2009), she is currently in charge of new elastomer process developments in the Michelin Group's R&D department. In particular, she has developed a patented sustainable elastomer that is now essential for reducing Michelin products’ energy consumption, and in 2024 she contributed to the production of the first batch of elastomers from a biosourced monomer.

To honor the memory of Pierre Faurre (class X 1960), who was a member of the Académie des Sciences and Chairman of the Board of Directors of École Polytechnique, several of the major companies that founded École Polytechnique Foundation have set up a fund to award an annual prize. This Pierre Faurre prize is awarded to a young polytechnicien who has developed an innovative activity or project within his or her company, and whose early career demonstrates a combination of technical mastery, management skills and success in an international context. The prize is intended to inspire École Polytechnique’s students who are exposed to innovation and entrepreneurship during their high-level, multi-disciplinary, research-based and internationally-oriented education.

Claire Fauvarque Nuytten is a graduate of École Polytechnique (class X 2009) and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (2014). She joined the Michelin Group's Research and Development Operations Department in 2014.

While synthetic elastomers are a major technology for creating a sustainable tire, from design to end-of-life, Claire Fauvarque Nuytten has distinguished herself by developing new patented sustainable elastomers, thanks to an innovative process she has deployed from pilot to industrial scale. Offering significant gains in rolling resistance, these breakthrough elastomers, now account for around 20% of Michelin's production volumes, help to reduce the environmental impact of mobility.

Since 2022, Claire Fauvarque Nuytten has been responsible for new elastomer process developments. In particular, she is in charge of project management for the new-generation elastomers’ design and their transition to renewable or recycled raw materials. As part of the BioButterfly program, a multi-stakeholder partnership between Michelin, IFP Energies nouvelles and Axens, she is responsible for integrating a biobased monomer into Michelin’s elastomers. In 2024, it contributed to the production of the first batch of elastomers from this monomer. This will make it possible to manufacture passenger car tires with the same performance, particularly in terms of rolling resistance, as its petroleum-based equivalent. To offer products that respect the environment, Michelin is committed to using 40% renewable or recycled materials by 2030, and 100% by 2050.

Since joining the Group, Claire Fauvarque Nuytten has been recognized for her scientific curiosity, her leadership and her ability to mobilize collective intelligence on issues related to innovation for sustainable mobility. 

Very attached to her Alma Mater, she has mentored students at École Polytechnique for the past three years. This is a way of enhancing Michelin's attractiveness and developing its recruitment within the Institution.