Takachar, India’s recycling startup wins Prince William’s Earthshot Prize; Check all the winners

An agriculture waste recycling project of a Delhi-based entrepreneur has been named among the winners of Prince William’s inaugural Earthshot Prize, also dubbed the ‘Eco Oxscars’, in London on October 17, 2021.

Vidyut Mohan-led Takachar has won the prize of 1 million pounds for its cheap technology innovation to covert the crop residues into sellable bio-products in the ‘clean our air’ category.

Takachar was among the five worldwide winners of the prize which is created by Prince Williams, the Duke of Cambridge, to reward people who are trying to save the planet.

WINNER: @BiomassTakachar, #EarthshotPrize Winner to #CleanOurAir!#EarthshotLondon2021 🌎 pic.twitter.com/c0Zy8Yoozx

— #EarthshotLondon2021 Awards (@EarthshotPrize) October 17, 2021

In a recorded message played at the ceremony, Prince William said, “Time is running out. A decade doesn’t seem long enough, but humankind has an outstanding record of being able to solve the unsolvable.” The ceremony was attended by celebrities and included performances by singers Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.

I want to say something to all the young people watching tonight:

For too long, we haven’t done enough to protect the planet for your future.

But Earthshot is for you.

In the next ten years we are going to act. We are going to find the solutions to repair our planet. pic.twitter.com/sDHwUn7FSn

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) October 17, 2021

India’s recycling startup develops technology to reduce smoke emission

Takachar, India’s recycling startup was named a winner for its technology which reduced smoke emission by up to 98%. It aims at helping improve the air quality that currently reduces the affected population’s life expectancy by up to 5 years.

The Earthshot Prize noted in a reference to the winning project, “Takachar has developed a cheap, small-scale, portable technology that attaches to the tractors in remote farms. The machine converts crop residues into sell-able bio-products such as fuel and fertilizer.”

It further added, “Globally we generate 120 billion of agriculture waste every year. What farmers cannot sell, they often burn, with catastrophic consequences for human health and the environment. The burning of the agriculture waste causes air pollution that in some areas has also reduced the life expectancy by a decade.”

The technology by Takachar, if scaled, can cut a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. It can be described as a win for India’s farmers which will be a win in the fight against climate change.

😱 The moment our first #EarthshotPrize Winners found out they had won! 🏆#EarthshotLondon2021 🌎 pic.twitter.com/uKdiy9JNP0

— #EarthshotLondon2021 Awards (@EarthshotPrize) October 18, 2021

Earthshot Prize 2021: Key details

• The Earthshot Prize’s name is a reference to the ‘Moonshot’ ambition of 1960s America, which saw then-President John F Kennedy pledge to get a man on the moon within a decade.

• Each year for the next decade, the Earthshot Prize will award 1 million pounds each to five projects that have been working to find solutions to the Earth’s environmental problems.

• The inaugural winners of the prize were selected from 5 different categories. They were chosen from a shortlist of 15 by judges including broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, singer Shakira, and actress Cate Blanchett.

• Each winner of the prize was awarded a one-of-a-kind prize medal. It was inspired by the iconic ‘Earthrise’ photo taken of the Earth from Space from the Apollo 8 mission in 1968 and created from recycled materials.

• All the 15 finalists of the prize will receive tailored support from Earthshot Prize Global Alliance. It is a network of NGOs, philanthropies, and private sector businesses that help in scaling their solutions.

• The award ceremony in London was concluded by revealing that the Earthshot Prize will travel to the US in 2022, with nominations for the 2022 Prize to open in January.

Earthshot Prize 2021 winners:

A 1 million pound prize will be awarded annually to a winner in each of the five categories.