The Operations Manager of FumiHogar participated in an event organised by Finnova, with the support of Descocentro, within the framework of AL-INVEST Verde Sustainable Coffee
ECOFFEE showcased the potential of coffee grounds to develop high value-added products and reduce the use of synthetic compounds
The webinar brought together 38 participants and speakers from organisations across Europe and Latin America
Friday, May 8, Brussels.
On May 6, 2026, Carlos Ramos, Operations Manager at FumiHogar, participated online in the Sustainability Forum in the Coffee Agrotourism Sector, organised by Finnova with the support of Descocentro, partners of AL-INVEST Verde Sustainable Coffee, to present the progress of the ECOFFEE project and share his experience in transforming coffee waste into sustainable high value-added solutions. The event brought together 38 participants from Europe and Latin America with the aim of exchanging best practices, fostering networking and promoting new collaboration opportunities around circular economy and sustainability within the coffee value chain.
ECOFFEE: new uses for coffee grounds
During his presentation, Carlos Ramos explained the main technical and regulatory challenges of the ECOFFEE project, which focuses on recovering and reusing spent coffee grounds as a raw material for developing new sustainable products.
Ramos highlighted the importance of effectively collecting this waste in order to preserve its properties, prevent fungal growth and ensure a homogeneous active ingredient. He also stressed the need to advance processes that legally reclassify the waste, transform it and commercialise products with full guarantees.
Circularity, innovation and lower environmental impact
The representative of FumiHogar emphasised ECOFFEE’s potential to demonstrate that coffee grounds, even after the extraction process, still retain properties that can be transformed into high value-added solutions. Among the examples presented, he pointed to the development of products with repellent or bactericidal functions that could reduce the use of synthetic alternatives with greater environmental impact.
Ramos linked this line of work to the concept of zero waste and to the opportunity to add value to the entire coffee industry, both in Europe, where coffee consumption is high, and in Latin America, a key coffee-producing region.
A forum for exchange between Europe and Latin America
The forum featured experts and organisations such as Yara Colombia, AECID, EAFIT University, CITE Agroindustrial, KAISER, Tecnicafé and other stakeholders linked to sustainability, traceability, waste management, wastewater treatment and European funding opportunities.
The session created synergies between projects, companies, institutions and knowledge centres, reinforcing the role of Finnova and its CEO, Juan Manuel Revuelta, in promoting European initiatives focused on innovation, circular economy and sustainability.
Funding and partners
The ECOFFEE project has a budget of €256,451.25, co-funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe programme (Grant Agreement CIRCULOOS No. 101092295). The consortium is made up of AZTI, Euskovazza, FUMIHOGAR and the Finnova Foundation, organisations working together to promote innovative, sustainable and replicable solutions for coffee waste valorisation and the transition towards circular economy models within the agri-food chain. The project promotes technologies capable of transforming coffee grounds from the HORECA channel into high value-added bioproducts, such as natural biocides and sustainable solutions applicable to the agricultural and environmental sectors.
Access the full event here: https://youtu.be/EPIq-8cbtXc
More information: https://ecoffeeproject.eu/