TAKACHAR

XPRIZE TRACK
LAND

CDR PATHWAY(S)
Land - Thermal conversion of biomass (biochar)

PHYSICAL PRODUCTS
Advanced Materials, Biochar, Energy, Soil/Soil Additives

FOUNDED
2015

GET IN TOUCH

Takachar Limited
New Delhi, India; Mwea, Kenya; San Francisco, CA, USA; Vancouver, Canada
www.takachar.com

Kevin Yung
[email protected]

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

We use MIT technology to build a decentralized internet-of-things-enabled reactor network to rapidly and profitably scale biochar deployment without being dependent on carbon offset credits. Our patent-pending, low-cost, and portable hardware and control systems enable village-based production of customizable biochar-based fertilizers using locally available crop residues and labor. The resultant standalone, government-certified fertilizer blend helps farmers improve their yield by up to 30% and net income by 50%, thereby uniquely advancing climate justice simultaneously.

CORE INNOVATION

Most crop/forest (biomass) residues are loose, wet, bulky, and too expensive to collect/ transport to centralized, one-size-fits-all biochar facilities. Our differentiation is that we make biomass technology small-scale, portable, and flexible in terms of biomass and output bioproducts. This allows us unique access to rural, decentralized, small pockets of biomass for localized utilization that larger technologies cannot reach. Furthermore, our tunable control system allows for placed-based customization of biochar produced to optimize to local soil/crop needs.

CO2 CAPTURE

CO2 is captured by growing plants (crops and trees). In the baseline, after harvest, the non-merchantable residues are typically burned in open air, which releases the same CO2 back into the atmosphere (and in some cases methane from anaerobic decomposition). Our thermochemical process intercepts this CO2 cycle by turning the carbon-based plant matter into a more recalcitrant composition with persistence when applied into the soil from thousands to millions of years (Schimdt et al., 2022).

CO2 SEQUESTRATION

The primary method of sequestration is that, after rendering the biochar noncombustible by blending it with water and nutrient, the mixture is then applied to the soil as a government-certified fertilizer blend on farms and forested lands. Mainstream methodologies, however, tend not to care about the application boundary. For example, if certain fraction of the biochar ended up in a landfill or river, then generally the biochar remains inert, and CO2 is still considered sequestered.

CO-BENEFITS OR PRODUCTS

Each tonne of carbon removed from our process is inextricably linked with other social/ environmental impacts overwhelmingly benefiting rural, underserved communities. Our 14,000 customers range from the poorest smallholder farmers in Kenya/India to the most remote First Nations communities in Canada. We have created >$1.5 million in unskilled rural job opportunities, enabling these communities to depend less on expensive, imported, and carbon-intensive chemical fertilizers. By utilizing high-risk residues, we also reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.