I recently had a conversation with Kacper Kossowski, co-founder of EcoBean. EcoBean is a spin-off of the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland and is dedicated to upcycling coffee grounds. The technology developed in collaboration with the university is fully owned by EcoBean, while a global patent is expected to be granted in 2025. Here is a summary of our conversation:
Kacper, you have been working in the coffee industry for more than 20 years in various roles. What finally motivated you to upcycle spent coffee grounds, a classic and long ignored waste product?
The topic of waste, and of course, primarily spent coffee grounds (SCG), has always been at the top of my agenda. I realized very early on that the coffee industry was not dealing with this by-product sufficiently. There are initiatives that deal with all kinds of sustainability aspects, but SCG is still largely ignored. Most of it is either dumped in landfills, burned by large instant coffee producers to generate energy, or, with a bit of luck, it ends up in a composting plant.
There are compelling reasons to change this. One tonne of SCG, for example, has an energy value of only €250 to €300 when incinerated. In my opinion, this is a waste or at least a missed opportunity to generate higher value. For this reason, we have developed a technology with which we can convert SCG into five sustainable products: coffee oil, antioxidants, lactic acid, lignin and protein additives. This process increases the economic value of SCG to about €9,000 per tonne!
Based on that, we could say that the real problem is not merely that we are throwing away the SCGs, but rather the non-utilisation of what is obviously a very versatile and valuable raw material?
The short answer is: yes!
Ok, let's start then at the very beginning of your utilization of the raw material: how and from whom do you collect the coffee grounds, and what happens to them after they arrive at your facility?
Primarily we collected SCGs locally from hotels, cafés (HoReCa)and offices. GLS, our global logistics partner, supported us in this. We prepared a special app to track and aggregate data such as collection volumes, intervals and CO2 savings.
But meanwhile we’ve established a solution that has the biggest impact and faster opportunity to scale = Turning Spent Coffee Grounds into sustainable chemicals right where they are generated at massive scale = instant coffee factories and industrial roasteries.
I can't remember where exactly, but I read about a "strategic shift to industrial production" with regard to your SCG collection logistics. Can you explain this in more detail?
Certainly. The production of 1kg of instant coffee generates approximately 2kg of SCG waste; and because of the large quantities that are regularly produced, cooperation with such companies is of course highly attractive for us. But what is more important, such cooperation is very attractive for them! Instead of generating waste, from now on they can have an additional source of profit.
Let me explain our approach. Rather than constructing large biorefineries in various countries and collecting Spent Coffee Grounds (SCG) from dispersed sources, we offer modular installations that can be built directly at each factory. These units simply extend the existing coffee processing line. Factory owners don't sell or give us their SCG; instead, they collaborate with us to produce in-demand ingredients and chemicals for the market and generate much higher profitability than in case of burning it.
We are already in advanced talks with key players in this industry. We have encountered a lot of interest, as this direction also makes sense for these companies from both an economic and environmental perspective. It is also super appealing for those companies to bring the upcycled spent coffee grounds back to the market in order to build a circular economy.
We haven't closed the door on collecting Spent Coffee Grounds (SCG) from the HoReCa sector though. That path remains open, but we've chosen to first focus on solving an industrial problem and demonstrating this as a significant opportunity for the market.
Looking further ahead. A big problem, and we should not forget about this, is the collection of SCG from households. I don't yet see a solution to this, but I am optimistic that one day something can be done about it.
Reflecting on past challenges, like the collapse of BioBean: are there lessons you have learned from this?
BioBean's story, I guess, taught us a lot. Given that they were the front-runner producing pellets and briquettes as their main business, and since we also started with producing briquettes, we analyzed their work very closely. They relied heavily on low-margin products like coffee briquettes and pellets, perhaps they hadn’t been innovating enough, or at least not fast enough. Plus, their focus on dispersed SCG collection from HoReCa made it hard to scale up substantially.
For us on the other hand, the key is that we very quickly switched to advanced chemical extraction, which allows us to generate better margins. We are focused on those >70% of proteins, lipids, antioxidants etc. that are not extracted in the coffee brewing process. This ensures that our business stays profitable. We will stay in business, not only in terms of being profitable, but also in terms of having a positive impact on the utilization of new resources.
Let's hope for the best! But let's take a look at what you are already doing: what exactly do they extract from the coffee grounds and what can be done with it?
What we extract is the following:
Coffee oil. It can be used in cosmetics as well as in food, beverages and also as an additive in biodiesel. We’ve recently confirmed that our ingredients can be recognized as natural by the cosmetics industry - something they are really looking for.
Antioxidants. They are also suitable for cosmetics (all anti-aging formulations) food and drinks. Together with a company that upcycles old bread, we are working on a probiotic drink to which our extracted antioxidants are added boosting it with caffeine.
Lactic acid. It is the key element of PLA (PolyLactic Acid), which can be used for the production of sustainable packaging or tools. We are currently looking for suitable partners to supply with this product.
Lignin. Lignin can be used, for example, as a barrier in packaging or as a filler in cosmetics, but has a lot of other applications.
Protein additives. We are currently carrying out tests for use as animal feed, particularly for poultry. The tests have been promising so far, but due to the necessary authorization procedures that apply to all our products it will take some time before the first chicken will grow healthy with our protein!
We can manufacture each of these products to various degrees of purity, which enables us to fulfil different requirements in different industries. We have already developed purity grades for technical and food applications; we are still working on those for medical/pharmaceutical applications.
Your 5 Musketeers! How far have you already progressed with the development of these 5 different products? Can you already put all of them “on the shelf”?
The stage of development varies depending on the product. Based on the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale, which ranges from 1 to 10, coffee oil and antioxidants, for example, are at 8-9, which means they are almost ready for the market. Lactic acid, on the other hand, is at 5-6 and still needs to be developed further. Biorefinery technology is not something that can be done quickly. You need a lot of patience. Countless tests have to be carried out for potential customers; they give you feedback, you carry out new tests and so on. It takes a lot of time before a product fulfils a customer's requirements.
Did you try to make use of the hemicellulose?
During our process, hemicellulose breaks down into sugars, on which we cultivate bacteria to obtain lactic acid.
One of your extracted products are antioxidants: which antioxidants exactly are we talking about, and what will they be used for?
The antioxidants we obtain are: caffeine, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid. We are testing our antioxidants for skin safety, their actual effectiveness on the skin, and their ability to penetrate it. Our tests are yielding very positive results.
How does your approach differ from competitors such as Kaffe Bueno?
Kaffe Bueno started with producing “coffee flour”, but then has shifted the focus mainly on ingredients dedicated for the beauty industry, while we have been developing a diversified portfolio with five ingredients for different industries almost from the outset. Our process leaves only 2% residual waste and is therefore very efficient. This product range and the focus on minimizing waste are key differentiators.
Growth is always a challenge. Does EcoBean already have expansion plans?
Indeed, we do. in the near future. We have plans to open our modular installations in Brazil and Europe. We can't share the specific partners yet, but we believe you'll know soon. Once the market sees these installations in action, we'll build more. Our vision is for this solution to become a global market standard, with those who don't valorize their Spent Coffee Grounds becoming a clear minority.
SCG is a highly perishable raw material due to its high water content. How do you deal with this?
That's an important question! Coffee grounds typically contain about 60% water, depending on the grind size and brewing method. When we collected them, we had a dedicated procedure to organize pick-ups every three days. However, with industrial sources of Spent Coffee Grounds, this isn't an issue. They enter our process immediately, and the first step is drying, so they don't have time to mold. While moisture content can vary by processing method, it's significantly lower.
This is an additional reason why industrial processing is much more efficient for us.
Another important source is coffee waste from households. Do you see a potential here despite the logistical challenge?
A lot of coffee is brewed at home, but the wide dispersion of this waste makes collection and therefore cost-effectiveness extremely difficult. Legislative changes and a significant expansion of the infrastructure would be required to remedy this situation.
What role do partnerships play in your upcycling strategy?
Partnerships are central to our approach. We imagine creating a circular economy that one of the scenarios could be structured like this: We upcycle SCG from instant coffee plant; we extract coffee oil from it, which we then sell to global ingredients distributor who sell it to beauty industry.
Partnerships with global companies allows us to secure both the biomass source and the sale of materials on the market.
What about investors?
Investors are extremely important for us. Our main investors include the KIC EIT Inno Energy, European and Quemetica, chemical giant of Polish origin but present globally. We are also currently raising funds to build our first modular installation to extract coffee Oil, with a capacity of 1000 tonnes in Brasil, which will be located directly by instant coffee plant. In this project we will partner with global process engineering leader.
It will be a giant step forward and milestone which will predominantly validate our technology and bring market traction. Once we achieve this milestone, we can scale up globally, which was always our strategic ambition.
Thank you very much, Kacper. Your work is truly inspiring and certainly has the potential to actively contribute to the much-needed transformation of the coffee industry. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours.
Thank you too! It was a pleasure.
