A Vancouver innovator is working to improve air quality worldwide by giving farmers an environmentally friendly alternative to open-air burning and foresters a better way to manage flammable forest residue.
Kevin Kung’s innovative system – being advanced by his start-up, Takachar – locally converts crop and forest residues into high-value bioproducts such as fertilizer blends, chemicals and biofuels. Kung received the 2023 Mitacs Environmental Entrepreneur Award in recognition of his work.
“Current technologies for turning biomass into usable products are large-scale and centralized … Our Aha! moment came when we realized we could circumvent the logistics issue by bringing the technology to the field or forest instead.” – Kevin Kung, CTO, Takachar
Dr. Kevin Kung wants to improve air quality by offering farmers an environmentally friendly alternative to burning the agricultural material that remains after their harvest, and foresters a better way to manage flammable forest residue.
Through ground-breaking work he has developed a small-scale, portable system to locally convert crop and forest residues (biomass) into higher-value bioproducts. Dr Kung – a postdoctoral researcher in the Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group at the University of British Columbia – is advancing his first-of-its-kind technology through his start-up, Takachar, where he serves as CTO.
“Biomass is a global challenge,” says Dr. Kung, noting that more than four billion tonnes of biomass residues are burned globally in the open air each year, accounting for as many as 10 percent of worldwide air pollution deaths. “Our goal is to end the practice of burning by turning costly residues into economic commodities.”
Innovation has the potential to impact rural communities
In Canada, catastrophic wildfires caused by the accumulation of excess flammable residue on the forest floor are increasing, and open air burning of crop residue is often the only option available to farmers. Crop and forest residues are very difficult and expensive to collect and transport to conversion facilities because they are very loose, wet, and bulky.
“Current technologies for turning biomass into usable products are large-scale and centralized, which means they only work well if the source is nearby,” explains Dr. Kung. “Our Aha! Moment came when we realized we could circumvent the logistics issue by bringing the technology to the field or forest instead.”
Takachar’s novel system is designed to latch onto the back of tractors or pickup trucks, making it easy to deploy in remote areas. Crop and forest residues are fed into the converter on the spot, and a biofuel, fertilizer or specialty chemical is produced at the backend.
The start-up is currently working with several First Nation communities in B.C. and other partners to test multiple prototypes of its technology in collaboration with UBC. The outputs comprise higher-value, carbon-based bioproducts such as fertilizer blends, chemicals, and biofuels.
“If we can implement this system locally, in rural communities that are often shut out of the benefits of the emerging bioeconomy, we can make a significant impact on their livelihood,” says Dr. Kung, one of five winners of the 2023 Mitacs Entrepreneur Award, recognized for their efforts to turn their research into an innovative business that impacts the lives of Canadians.
“Mitacs’ support has been instrumental in the growth of our company, specifically when it comes to working with leading-edge universities like UBC and being able to sponsor researchers to advance our technology,” says Dr. Kung. “It also helped us to investigate the market potential for our technology beyond Canada.”
Mitacs’s programs receive funding from valued partners across Canada. We thank the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon for supporting us to foster innovation and economic growth throughout the country.
Do you have a business challenge that could benefit from a research solution? If so, contact Mitacs today to discuss partnership opportunities: BD@mitacs.ca
