Takachar

Takachar is a limited company based in Boston as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is developing torrefaction reactors, which will cook agricultural waste to create biochar or biocoal – a modernised form of charcoal burning. The target market is India, where traditional methods such as stubble burning create large amounts of smoke and have been a significant cause of air pollution.

Traditional burning of rice stubble

The company was formed in 2018 by founders Vidyut Mohan and Kevin Kung.[1]

Takachar creates a sustainable bottom-up system that reduces pollution while supplying alternatives to fossil fuels, with the added benefit of creating a new revenue stream for farmers.[1] By 2020, the company had converted 3,000 tons of biomass waste that would otherwise have been burned.[2]

In 2021, the company won an Earthshot prize in the "Clean our Air" category, as its process and products are expected to reduce the amount of waste that is burnt in the open air.[3][4]

References
  1. UNEP. "Vidyut Mohan". Young Champions of the Earth - UN Environment Program. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  2. UNEP (2020-12-15). "Turning waste into energy in India". Young Champions of the Earth - UN Environment Program. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  3. Clean Our Air Winner, Royal Foundation, 2021
  4. "Earthshot Prize: Costa Rica wins £1m from William's Earthshot prize". BBC News. 18 October 2021.


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