How did shortages during World War I encourage research on synthetic rubber?

During World War I, the Allied blockade of Germany created severe shortages of natural rubber, which was essential for industrial and military needs. This scarcity acted as a powerful stimulus for German scientists to develop a synthetic alternative.12

Building upon earlier laboratory research, German manufacturers began producing a material known as "methyl rubber" using a process discovered by Ivan Kondakov. While this early synthetic rubber was considered inferior to natural rubber by modern standards, it demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale synthetic production under wartime pressure. Following the war, manufacturers initially returned to the cheaper and more satisfactory natural product, but the wartime experience proved that consistent investment in scientific and technical research could successfully address critical material shortages. This foundation eventually paved the way for the development of more advanced synthetic elastomers in the following decades.12