Charles Park , CEO of MeTech, succeeds in developing methane capsules 

Globally, methane emission from livestock is becoming a serious social concern. For the first time in history, New Zealand has decided to impose greenhouse gas emission charges on livestock excretion such as methane emitted by cows and nitrous oxide generated from livestock urine. Global companies in the agricultural and livestock industry are already moving towards carbon neutrality. However, the level of carbon neutrality in our farms is still in its infancy.

Metech, a startup specializing in livestock methane gas research, announced on the 29th that the company had successfully developed the ‘Methane Capsule’, an equipment that can detect and measure methane (CH4) and CO2 generated in the stomach of cows.

Charles Park , CEO of MeTech reported, “We have succeeded in developing the world's first methane capsules based on our expertise of livestock ICT technology for the past 11 years. When the methane capsule is inserted into the cow's mouth it remains in the cow’s stomach, allowing us to assess and measure the methane concentration and methane emissions in real-time. Methane capsules stay inside the cow’s stomach and can be used for up to two years. Methane gas information accumulated through IoT communication (based on LORA, Cat m1) is transmitted to a real-time cloud server. There are plans to further support Open API to make use of the collected methane gas information in its respective field.”

Currently, a significant amount of methane is being emitted through belching and flatulent gas generated by 1.5 billion cows around the world. The emissions caused by cows are problematic to the point that it is estimated that the emission rate per day is equivalent to an entire year’s worth of methane emissions from cars. Ruminants such as cows and sheep account for 39% of the total livestock methane gas production rate.

CEO Park further mentioned, “The food industry is likewise under a low-carbon trend. Burger King has already put out low-carbon beef patties, and numerous companies are continuously adding certifications on low-carbon foods. However, we still lack even the basic data required for low-carbon certification. Methane capsules invented by MeTech measure methane emission and concentration of cows in real time by inserting methane capsules for each livestock, a process difficult to verify with the naked eye. Through this method, essential data required for low-carbon certification can be provided in real-time. I am confident that our invention will vastly contribute to examining the efficiency of low-carbon feed and establish a standard role in the application of low-carbon certified products.”

MeTech has applied for patents in 18 countries along with domestic patent applications for methane capsules produced with pure domestic technology through R&D over the past three years.

According to MeTech, “Our goal is to export more than 1 million methane capsules to the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Europe in 2023. In the coming year, we plan to present the world's first methane gas reduction capsule that reduces methane emissions by 30-40%.”

The methane gas capsule is suitable for low-carbon certification and low-carbon taxation. It is now possible to calculate the carbon footprint of cows on a per-unit basis in the production of low-carbon feed. The invention is expected to become a fundamental tool for the development of low-carbon quality feed.