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Takachar Co-Founder and CEO, Vidyut Mohan
2021 Winner
Clean Our
Air

Takachar

Country:
India
Nominated by:

Globally, we generate $120 billion of agricultural waste every year, which is often burnt. Takachar’s technology massively reduces these emissions.

Their Story

The burning of agricultural waste has catastrophic consequences for human health and the environment, causing air pollution that in some areas has reduced life expectancy by a decade. 

This plays out every year in the fields surrounding New Delhi. Smoke from man-made infernos fills the air, with serious consequences for the health of locals. One of their number is Vidyut Mohan. His social enterprise, Takachar, is putting out the fire.     

Takachar has developed a cheap, small-scale, portable technology that attaches to tractors in remote farms. The machine converts crop residues into sellable bio-products like fuel and fertilizer. 

Takachar’s technology reduces smoke emissions by up to 98% which will help improve the air quality that currently reduces the affected population’s life expectancy by up to 5 years. If scaled, it could cut a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year: a win for India’s farmers will be a win in the fight against climate change.       

The Earthshot Prize prizemoney of £1 million has allowed Vidyut and the team to speed up their product prototyping process and double the size of their team. They have also seen new customer enquiries triple, and a major uplift in social media footprint, and were awarded $1M by the Musk Foundation’s XPrize for carbon removal. 

Vidyut had the chance to share more on his work and journey with Earthshot Prize Council Member Cate Blanchett on her “Climate of Change” podcast and has taken private meetings with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Mike Bloomberg. 

Learn About the Earthshots

Protect
and Restore
Nature

By 2030, we choose to ensure that, for the first time in human history, the natural world is growing – not shrinking – on our planet. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Protecting areas of high biodiversity such as forests, wetland, peatlands and wildlife corridors
  2. Restoring damaged ecosystems
  3. Feeding people while protecting nature
Learn more about this Earthshot

Clean Our
Air

By 2030 we choose to ensure that everyone in the world breathes clean, healthy air – at World Health Organization standard or better. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Engaging citizens in data collection and clean air policies
  2. Preventing the burning of fields, forests and waste
  3. Transitioning to clean transportation for all
Learn more about this Earthshot

Revive Our
Oceans

By 2030, we choose to repair and preserve our oceans for future generations. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems
  2. Replenishing fish populations
  3. Reducing demand for fishmeal
Learn more about this Earthshot

Build a
Waste-free
World

By 2030, we choose to build a world where nothing goes to waste, where the leftovers of one process become the raw materials of the next – just like they do in nature. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Reducing food loss from farm to fork
  2. Phasing out single-use and non-recycled plastics
  3. High-value circularity in fashion and electronics
Learn more about this Earthshot

Fix Our
Climate

We choose to fix the world’s climate by cutting out carbon: building a carbon neutral economy that lets every culture, community and country thrive. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Creating an equitable clean energy future
  2. Addressing non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions
  3. Decarbonising hard to abate sectors
Learn more about this Earthshot
The Earthshot Prize