Technological watch
Caffe Inc. signs contract for €4 Million to build recycling plant for coffee waste in Amsterdam
Evaluna Marquez (left) and Josephine Nijstad (right) | Photograph: Cees HinCaffe Inc. BV and the Amsterdam Climate and Energy Fund (ACEF) join forces to realize a 100% circular recycling plant for coffee waste in Amsterdam. In the factory coffee waste is recycled into coffee oil, for use in the personal care industry and into coffee blocks applied in biobased materials. These valuable ingredients would otherwise have been wasted. When the Caffe Inc. factory is fully operational it will save CO2 amounts equal to what 75.000 trees take up in a year.
Coffee is the fuel our society runs on. Only 1% of the coffee bean however is used to make coffee and the remaining 99% ends up as waste. In The Netherlands we produce around 250.000 tons of coffee waste (koffiedik) per year. This results in the loss of valuable resources and it emits 8.5 million kg CO2, contributing to climate change. Caffe Inc. therefore processes coffee grounds in Amsterdam and uses these to produce 100% circular and natural ingredients. From the coffee grounds, high-quality oils are extracted that are used in the personal care industry given their benefits for skin and hair, for example in a facial crème or in a shampoo bar. For the bio-based material industry Caffe Inc. offers coffee blocks, a sustainable building material. The Amsterdam Climate & Energy Fund (ACEF) has provided financing to upscale the technology, with commercial production in mind.
“We want to act on a sustainable future and not only talk about it. Coffee is something everyone can relate to. By making the circular case for coffee waste we want to inspire others to start working towards a circular economy” – Josephine Nijstad, founding CEO Caffe Inc.
“After so many years of research, it is a great to see our ingredients being further developed by partners into new products!” – Evaluna Marquez, founding CTO Caffe Inc.
Caffe Inc. is led by Josephine Nijstad and Evaluna Marquez. The two female leaders of Caffe Inc. are part of a new movement of impact-driven companies that show how serious impact and a financially attractive business go hand-in-hand. Upon meeting in 2018, Nijstad and Marquez shared a vision to contribute to a sustainable world by offering a practical solution everyone can relate to. With their complementary backgrounds in environmental management and chemistry, they have the skills to turn their ambitions into reality. Caffe Inc. was incubated by Spaak Circular Solutions B.V. of which Nijstad is a co-founder.
Amsterdam Climate and Energy Fund (ACEF), which has been created by the City of Amsterdam, funds projects that make significant environmental impact and contribute to CO2 reductions within the city. Caffe Inc. sees in ACEF a partner for the long run, which is required for making circular innovations possible.
“We were very much attracted by this opportunity to turn a very visible every day waste stream into manufacturable and marketable high quality products and by the team making this come true” Casper Heijsteeg, fund manager ACEF.
“The creation of the coffee recycling plant of Caffe Inc. perfectly fits into the circular strategy of the City of Amsterdam. Initiatives like this assist the city in achieving its ambition to become one of the leading circular hubs in Europe” – Marieke van Doorninck, alderman City of Amsterdam
If we, as a society, want more positive changes to happen, we have to be open to work outside the standard economical models. The collaboration of Caffe Inc. with ACEF is a great step in advancing circular models that have societal and ecological impact as a solid foundation, says Sarah Hafith, Head of Ventures (Spaak Circular Solutions). Caffe Inc. is ready for the coffee revolution, are you?
Coffee is the fuel our society runs on. Only 1% of the coffee bean however is used to make coffee and the remaining 99% ends up as waste. In The Netherlands we produce around 250.000 tons of coffee waste (koffiedik) per year. This results in the loss of valuable resources and it emits 8.5 million kg CO2, contributing to climate change. Caffe Inc. therefore processes coffee grounds in Amsterdam and uses these to produce 100% circular and natural ingredients. From the coffee grounds, high-quality oils are extracted that are used in the personal care industry given their benefits for skin and hair, for example in a facial crème or in a shampoo bar. For the bio-based material industry Caffe Inc. offers coffee blocks, a sustainable building material. The Amsterdam Climate & Energy Fund (ACEF) has provided financing to upscale the technology, with commercial production in mind.
“We want to act on a sustainable future and not only talk about it. Coffee is something everyone can relate to. By making the circular case for coffee waste we want to inspire others to start working towards a circular economy” – Josephine Nijstad, founding CEO Caffe Inc.
“After so many years of research, it is a great to see our ingredients being further developed by partners into new products!” – Evaluna Marquez, founding CTO Caffe Inc.
Caffe Inc. is led by Josephine Nijstad and Evaluna Marquez. The two female leaders of Caffe Inc. are part of a new movement of impact-driven companies that show how serious impact and a financially attractive business go hand-in-hand. Upon meeting in 2018, Nijstad and Marquez shared a vision to contribute to a sustainable world by offering a practical solution everyone can relate to. With their complementary backgrounds in environmental management and chemistry, they have the skills to turn their ambitions into reality. Caffe Inc. was incubated by Spaak Circular Solutions B.V. of which Nijstad is a co-founder.
Amsterdam Climate and Energy Fund (ACEF), which has been created by the City of Amsterdam, funds projects that make significant environmental impact and contribute to CO2 reductions within the city. Caffe Inc. sees in ACEF a partner for the long run, which is required for making circular innovations possible.
“We were very much attracted by this opportunity to turn a very visible every day waste stream into manufacturable and marketable high quality products and by the team making this come true” Casper Heijsteeg, fund manager ACEF.
“The creation of the coffee recycling plant of Caffe Inc. perfectly fits into the circular strategy of the City of Amsterdam. Initiatives like this assist the city in achieving its ambition to become one of the leading circular hubs in Europe” – Marieke van Doorninck, alderman City of Amsterdam
If we, as a society, want more positive changes to happen, we have to be open to work outside the standard economical models. The collaboration of Caffe Inc. with ACEF is a great step in advancing circular models that have societal and ecological impact as a solid foundation, says Sarah Hafith, Head of Ventures (Spaak Circular Solutions). Caffe Inc. is ready for the coffee revolution, are you?
This project has been co-funded with the support of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union [LIFE17 ENV/ES/000438] Life programme
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