Takachar

Traditional burning of rice stubble

Environmental agribusiness

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.

The company was formed in 2018 by founders Vidyut Mohan[1][2][3] and Kevin Kung.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6][7]

## External Links

[edit]

* Takachar website

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Vidyut Mohan - Indian, Asia and the Pacific". Young Champions of the Earth - UN Environment Program. United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
2. ^ "Vidyut Mohan, Cofounder, Takachar, New Delhi, India". 30 Under 30 - Asia - Social Entrepreneurs (2020). Forbes. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
3. ^ "Vidyut Mohan, Takachar, 2019 Climate Fellow". Echoing Green. 2019. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
4. ^ "Kevin Kung, Takachar, 2019 Climate Fellow". Echoing Green. 2019. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
5. ^ "Turning waste into energy in India". Young Champions of the Earth - UN Environment Program. United Nations Environment Programme. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
6. ^ Clean Our Air Winner, Royal Foundation, 2021
7. ^ "Earthshot Prize: Costa Rica wins £1m from William's Earthshot prize". BBC News. 2021-10-17. Retrieved 2025-02-13.

This article needs additional or more specific categories. Please help out by adding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles. (November 2023)

|

This United States corporation or company article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

This agriculture article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

This environment-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

This article about energy, its collection, its distribution, or its uses is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template