Sound thinking: How ADAR Technologies’ ‘sonic boom’ is turning agricultural waste into value

With successful trials across manure, grape marc, and food waste, ADAR is now seeking Australian partners for trials, co-development, and investment.  

About 25 years ago, Ben Kelsey’s high school geography class had the pleasure of visiting the local sewage works. The memory of the drying ponds has stuck with him. So too have the smells of rotting silage, sheep yards, and – these days – the faint waft of composting grape marc from the wine region Ben calls home. 

Ben says that organic waste is an assault on the senses. But beyond the stench lies a more complex challenge. Biologically unstable, high-moisture waste rots quickly, harbours pathogens, and rapidly loses nutritional value – despite often starting rich in fibre, protein, lipids and polyphenols. It’s also heavy, emits greenhouse gases, and is costly to transport. 

“The moisture is the issue,” Ben explains, as ADAR Technologies’ Head of Market Development in Australia. “But traditional heat-based industrial drying systems are huge, energy-intensive, and slow to return value.” 

They also destroy valuable nutrients, locking organic waste out of higher-value circular uses like nutraceutical inputs, or fortified nutrition.  
That’s why ADAR Technologies has spent the past seven years developing a new approach: acoustic dehydration. This global startup has created a first-of-its-kind system that uses sound – not heat – to dry organic waste. The result? A lightweight, shelf-stable, nutrient-rich powder that can be stored, transported, and sold into high-value markets – not dumped or downgraded.  

Housed in a shipping container, ADAR’s modular system helps agrifood businesses reduce emissions, cut waste handling costs, and unlock new value.  
Now, the company is looking to establish a presence in Australia and is seeking commercial trial partners, co-development opportunities, and strategic investors. 

ADAR’s system works by sending organic material through a vortex chamber that applies a concentrated acoustic force, not unlike a sonic boom. 

“If you’ve ever seen a fighter jet going through the speed of sound, creating a big crack – you’ve probably seen the plume it leaves behind,” said Ben.

“That’s water being ejected out of the air by the pressure wave.”  

“We reverse-engineered that effect. The sonic boom drives water out of the waste material, while also pulverising and sanitising it.” 

What’s left is a dry powder that retains up to 90% of the input’s original nutritional value. The only by-product is water, which can be vented or captured for reuse.  

ADAR’s vision is a global network of decentralised, clean-energy systems transforming waste into shelf-stable resources at the point of production. 

ADAR’s system is suited to waste-rich agrifood industries like dairy, horticulture and brewing. But completed trials have processed a wide range of inputs – from manure and seafood slurry to spent grain, avocado seeds, citrus rinds, mouldy produce, and corn cobs. These tests have shown potential operational savings of up to 60% compared to traditional drying, along with meaningful emissions reductions thanks to on-site processing and reduced transport. 

“We work well on any organic material,” said Ben. “Even rocks. What we struggle with are metals and plastics. A spanner in the machine is fairly terminal!” 

While ADAR’s initial focus is agrifood, its technology also has potential in mining, municipal waste, and remote communities looking to close the loop on organic inputs.

One of ADAR’s most promising early use cases is in winemaking – and specifically, grape marc. Rich in fibre, lipids, and polyphenols, marc is typically composted or fed to stock.  

ADAR’s technology has a presence in Europe and North America. Australia is next on the radar. 

“We’d love to talk to winemakers in Australia keen to explore how they can turn the skins, seeds and other sticky bits left behind from winemaking into functional ingredients for secondary markets,” said Ben. 

ADAR’s story began in 2017 in the Netherlands, driven by a manure management problem in Dutch agriculture, where a problem that has challenged agriculture for centuries, manure management, is significant.  

“The idea came from our technical founder who had read a hundred-year-old research paper on using sound to dry waste,” Ben explained. “The tech didn’t exist – so he built it himself.” 

Early prototypes were built and refined between Europe and the US. Now with commercial leadership in Australia, ADAR is preparing for the release of its Gen 4 MVP unit – and actively seeking agrifood partners for trials and co-development. 

Australia offers the ideal conditions for ADAR’s next phase of growth: diverse agrifood industries, consistent waste streams, and concentrated regional hubs that make localised processing practical and scalable. 

“Take the wine industry,” said Ben. “You’ve got regional concentration, an eight-month vintage, and a four-month off-season – perfect for testing and refining. That’s a great fit for our tech.”

Demand for on-site waste processing is growing – and conversations are already underway in horticulture, meat processing, and municipal waste. And with lead times of around six months for deployment, ADAR is encouraging early engagement. 

“We see ourselves as the equivalent of shovels in the gold rush,” explained Ben. “Whether you’re trying to cut waste costs, reduce emissions, or find value in your by-products, we can help.” 

ADAR is currently seeking: 

• Agrifood businesses with high waste handling costs or low-value byproducts  
• Food manufacturers looking to reclaim fibre or nutritional inputs
• Industry and research partners to support trials or bioavailability validation
• Strategic investors in cleantech, circular economy, and sustainability innovation. 

ADAR’s roadmap includes scaling commercial deployments, expanding the platform’s input capability, and building licensing, contract processing, and manufacturing partnerships. 

A local demonstration and test site is also a priority – giving stakeholders a chance to see the system in action on Australian inputs. “Especially with something people aren’t familiar with, showing it working in their context is really powerful,” said Ben.  

“We’re flexible on business model and structuring partnerships” he added. “It could be direct sale, equipment leasing, contract processing or even collaborative co-investment arrangements with the right institutional partners”.  

“Across all models, we’re focused on connecting ingredients to markets, so companies get real value from their waste. Because without a market for the output, we’re just making a powdery version of waste,” he concluded. “That’s why finding the right partners now is critical – to build the ecosystem that redefines waste.”