TCHA-THOM Maglwa
Country: Togo
Words from the finalist…
In 2008s, there was 01 biodigester in Republic of Togo (West Africa). The first initiatives undertaken by Maglwa TCHA-THOM contributed to build two anaerobic digestion units to master the technology: a small unit of 6 m3 and a large unit of 1500 m3. This propelled him to start a PhD thesis on biogas technologies, the first on biogas in Togo defended in 2019. During his PhD thesis, he undertakes the construction of 08 biodigesters in two slaughterhouses to stop the rendering of animals by car tires, polluted hydrocarbons, tree trunks. Faced with strong resistance from users who did not want to give up their old habits, he managed to reverse the trend, leading many stakeholders to get involved. Then, all the slaughterhouses of the main cities were built with 05 biodigesters each. In 2018, he convinces partners to prioritize the development of anaerobic digestion sector at the expense of several types of renewable energies, although this sector was not among the government’s priorities, which he also managed to convince through a feasibility study. The realization of this study led to the construction of the largest, well-equipped and first biogas laboratory in Togo launched in May 2024. The laboratory is requested by ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency to make it a reference laboratory in West Africa and internationally. My actions undertaken in ministries pushed the government to contribute to the establishment of the West African Alliance on Biodigester. Then, the Ministry of Agriculture facilitate, to establish the National Association of Biogas in July 2024 to propel the biogas. In December 2024, the Ministry of the Environment, entrusted him the mission of proposing five prototypes of biodigesters for domestic use in national level. Today, thanks to his multiple actions, visibility generated and various canvassing, nearly 200 biodigesters are implemented and 500 upcoming biodigesters will be constructed. He is also the expert who made the carbon footprint and advice of biogas recover of the most big landfill of Togo, a landfill built on international norms and used as reference in West Africa.
He invites all stakeholders to promote the sector in the world, in Africa and in his country Togo.