The hybrid event "From Seed to Cup" closes this EU-funded pilot, which has tested a reverse logistics model to valorise coffee waste, and opens the institutional debate on new international funding pathways to replicate it.
Valencia, 30 September 2026. Yesterday, Tuesday 29 September, the Hub Empresa de Banco Sabadell in Valencia hosted the international meeting "From Seed to Cup", the final dissemination and policy dialogue event of the European ECOFFEE project. Over 12 months, the initiative has recovered spent coffee grounds from the HORECA sector and vending machines to transform them into natural biocides and animal feed ingredients, with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions associated with this waste by at least 30%. The hybrid event brought together an on-site audience and more than 30 participants online.
The meeting paid tribute to the Valencian Jesuit José Gumilla, born in Càrcer, who in 1737 brought the first coffee seeds to Colombia and Venezuela. Almost three centuries later, Valencia once again connects Europe and Latin America through coffee, now through the circular economy.
Following the institutional opening, moderated by Adrián Noheda (Fundación Finnova) with Silvia Patricia López, Director of Sabadell Hub Empresa; Stephane Soriano Gómez, Director-General for Diversity of the Generalitat Valenciana; and Nathaly Ortiz Cárdenas, Consul of Ecuador in Valencia, the first technical session presented the consortium's results. Iker Beristain (Euskovazza) explained the reverse collection circuit in HORECA and vending, which uses existing coffee delivery routes to collect the waste. Mónica Gutiérrez (AZTI) addressed the characterisation of the by-products and their environmental assessment using the CIRCULOOS GRETA tool. Carlos Ramos (FumiHogar) showcased the development of FUMICOFFE natural biocides and their synergy with sustainable agriculture under the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project.
Caption: Technical presentation on reverse logistics and by-product valorisation by ECOFFEE partners.
To connect innovation with the origin of the product, and in partnership with the European project CHOICE, Viviana Narváez (TECNiCAFÉ) and Judite Moreira (Supracafé) led a comparative sensory tasting highlighting the work of the Association of Women Coffee Growers of Cauca (Colombia). Beatriz Rodríguez (Bioazul), Regina Monsalve (Intereco) and Nuria Carrero Riolobos (AECID) then analysed how to transfer these bioeconomy practices to coffee-producing regions through international cooperation and organic production.
The event closed with an exchange of experiences between Latin America and Europe on funding. Juanma Revuelta (CEO of Fundación Finnova, AL-INVEST Verde Sustainable Coffee), Yolanda Durán (LIFE NextFUMIGREEN), Juan Viesca (CSUSTAIN) and Ernesto Ussher (Venezuelan Coffee Innovation Network) outlined opportunities to replicate the model on a large scale through programmes such as LIFE, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and AL-INVEST Verde.
The full recording of the event is available on YouTube.
About ECOFFEE
ECOFFEE (Circular value chain for the valorisation of spent coffee grounds as an ingredient for animal feed and biocide production) is a circular bioeconomy pilot funded by the European Union through Open Call 2 of the CIRCULOOS project under the Horizon Europe programme (grant agreement No 101092295). With a budget of EUR 256 451.25 over 12 months, it is coordinated by the AZTI technology centre together with Euskovazza, FumiHogar and Fundación Finnova.
More information: https://ecoffeeproject.eu/
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.