COFFEERISE: Sustainable construction and hydrogen energy from spent coffee grounds, stage 1

Purpose and goal

The overarching goal of the COFFEERISE project is to valorise spent coffee grounds (SCG) into two eco-designed, sustainable bio-based products: composite bricks and tiles, and biographite. The stage 1 project will focus on feasibility verification, pursuing specific objectives to develop a catalytic graphitization process and characterize the SCG-derived biographite, and develop a manufacturing process for the SCG-based composite bricks with preliminarily characterized physical properties.

Expected effects and result

The goal of COFFEERISE is to significantly increase the use of spent coffee grounds (SCGs) in creating lightweight, durable, and functional components for construction and fuel cells. Achieving this goal is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from SCGs, enhancing sustainability and resilience in both the construction and hydrogen industries. This initiative will benefit not only Sweden but also Europe and the global community.

Planned approach and implementation

This project will integrate cutting-edge biorefinery processes with advanced composite design and manufacturing techniques to revolutionize the utilization of spent coffee grounds (SCGs) beyond their conventional applications. In stage 1, the feasibility of this approach will be verified through 4 work packages. These packages will focus on developing SCG-composite materials for bricks and graphitizing SCGs followed by preliminary characterization of the resulting biographite in bipolar plates.