ECOFFEE Revolutionizes the Future of Coffee in Valencia: From Waste to Strategic Resource for Europe

• The European project presented its breakthroughs in transforming coffee grounds into animal feed and natural biocides at Sabadell HUB Empresa, with a successful turnout of nearly 100 professionals

VALENCIA, February 10, 2026. Just seven days after Valencia became the epicenter of circular innovation, the impact of the “Coffee recycling and the circular economy” workshop continues to resonate across the industry. The ECOFFEE project, funded by the Horizon Europe program under the CIRCULOOS ecosystem, gathered 54 in-person attendees and 33 online experts, building a community of nearly 100 professionals committed to zero waste.

During the event, David San Martín, Senior Researcher at AZTI, revealed the technical roadmap for giving a second life to the thousands of tons of coffee grounds generated annually. San Martín emphasized that ECOFFEE’s success lies in overcoming five critical challenges:

1. Smart Logistics: The challenge of collecting waste from the HORECA sector and vending machines, complying with «End-of-Waste» regulations to legally classify coffee as a raw material.
2. Precision Decapsulation: Developing mechanical systems to efficiently separate coffee from plastic and aluminum.
3. Thermal Stabilization: Drying processes to reduce moisture below 10%, ensuring the ingredient is safe and shelf-stable.
4. Sustainable Animal Nutrition: The project is already conducting trials with dairy sheep and cattle, proving that coffee can be a nutritious ingredient that also helps reduce livestock methane emissions.
5. Natural Biocides: Using dry micro-dispersion technology to turn coffee into a protective «shield» for crops, reducing the need for harsh chemicals.

With a budget of €256,451.25, ECOFFEE is the result of a strategic alliance between AZTI (coordinator), Euskovazza, FumiHogar, and the Finnova Foundation. Together, they are proving that industrial symbiosis is not just a concept, but an economic and environmental reality for Europe.

About ECOFFEE

 ECOFFEE is an innovation project selected under the CIRCULOOS Open Call 2. Its goal is to implement digital traceability and reverse logistics solutions to valorize coffee by-products. Press Contact: [Your Name/Email] Funding: Project funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement No. 101092295).