Imperative of bio-fuel made from coffee waste in powering mass transit buses

As part of the ‘#makethefuture’ initiative, Shell, in collaboration with Bio-bean, has launched an innovative new technology which will see buses being powered by biofuel made from coffee waste. Bio-bean founder and CEO, Arthur Kay, explains the innovation behind this initiative and Shell’s support through the LiveWire Programme in an exclusive interview with Energy Editor, Olushola Bello.

What is bio-bean?

Bio-bean is a green energy company based in the UK that makes a range of bio-fuels from waste coffee grounds and we work with coffee shops and waste management companies to collect coffee grounds and turn them into an array of energy products. And what we have done is working with Shell and with Ardent Energy and Transport London to help power London buses with a bio-diesel derived from waste coffee grounds.

How sustainable is the bio-bean project?

With bio-bean, there are two answers to that. The first is in terms of waste, the waste is taken as landfill as it is no longer in use. So, there is sustainability to that. Also, it is sustainable not just environmentally as there is a reduction in emission, but also economically in that we save the companies we work with money, in terms of expenditure on waste disposal.  The second is in terms of using a second generation bio-diesel rather than using a mineral diesel, which is what we are doing with the bio-bean bus project. So, if you compare a second generation bio-diesel to a mineral diesel, you save, according to a recent London transport report, 80-85% in terms of CO2 emissions when you compare them. The environmental savings are significant. And what we have done is blend it to make a B20 fuel which saves 10-15% in terms of CO2 emissions when compared to mineral diesel.

What is the relevance of this project to Nigeria?

As you know, Shell has been in Nigeria for a long time and a couple of the programmes from an enterprise development perspective that we have like Shell Livewire for example, help to inspire entrepreneurs to come up with ideas in the areas of energy. That is a programme that we currently have in Nigeria, having implemented some of the bright energy ideas that came from other entrepreneurs, into Nigeria, such as the Lagos kinetic football pitch that we did in the Federal College of Education in Lagos. In the next weeks we are also having aprogramme to find the next start-ups and entrepreneurs with ideas locally and hopefully we can support them the same way we are supporting bio-beanin order to bring some of these ideas into the market.

How soon can bio-bean be used in a country like Nigeria?

We are starting with the UK. However, we are looking to expanding as soon as possible. And a country like Nigeria will be fantastic because Nigerians drink a lot of coffee – as many as 275 million cups of coffee every year. It will make a really great place for bio-bean to expand to one day.

How soon will bio-bean become global?

As soon as possible. What we are doing with bio-bean is to finish with companies here in the UK first, before expanding internationally as we would want to make sure that we prove the different products that we are producing. Currently, we have a range of products we are producing – pellet product, a solid fuel made from waste coffee grounds,which is used for heating buildings. We then moved on to coffee log products, which is another solid fuel but slightly larger, used for heating homes.The most recent product, which we are demonstrating here in London is the liquid transport fuel. So,what we want is to put these new products, prove them in the market, and scale them up, before expanding internationally. But we will do this as soon as we possibly can.

Would you encourage Africans to plant more coffee?

Absolutely. The more the merrier. I mean, the exciting thing is that I love coffee personally, I love to drink it. So what gets me excited is that not only is it a delicious drink, but also it can be part of a solution tohow we can combat climate change. A small part though, but it is still important. To keep growing it is fundamental.

Do you see this bio-fuel replacing diesel and petrol?

Bio-diesel will not replace existing fuel products completely, but will serve as a supplement to existing diesel products. And even if we got all of the coffee in the UK, that would not be enough to power the entire transport system, same in Nigeria. So what we are saying is there would be an energy mix now, a diversity of products. And we are hoping that some of the products to come out of bio-bean will be a part of the broad energy mix.

What is the long-term impact of this project for Shell?

It is important that we continue to get new ideas onto the table, some of which will be internal ideas and innovations that we can deploy. We are working towards bettering the future with these ideas and in a collaborative approach.

What is the process of converting the bio bean into fuel?

Bio-bean works with coffee shops across the UK as well as waste management companies, to collect the coffee grounds from thousands of outlets where they produce the waste coffee grounds.It is brought to our factory which is close to Cambridge, where we process 50,000 tonnes of waste coffee grounds a year, which is one tenth of UK’s waste coffee grounds.From there, we extract the oil from the grounds. Working with our partner Ardent Energy, we then convert them to bio-diesel and compress them into coffee logs to be used to heat homes in open fires, and power the London buses.

What has been the response of Nigerians to the ‘MaketheFuture’ initiative?

For me, the response in Nigeria has been extremely positive. There have been a few activities that we have done in the market place like the Federal College of Education kinetic pitch activation. We also have beenworking with local start-upsto explore other ideas that can work in the market. The expectation is that we identify more entrepreneurs that are focused on the future of energy and that we can continue to help them to implement, and support them the same way we have been doing with our source.

Is the bio-fuel only for buses?

No, the bio-fuel can be used for a range of occasions. With the London buses, we are demonstrating the potential, not just of the fuel, but the whole concept of the London bus. It is an iconic way to talk about it as it is working with Transport London, one of the biggest metropolitan bus operators in the world, which is showing what we can do with them.

Are there any specializedbio-bean plants used in the production process?

Yes, bio-bean has a special production plant, of which there is a lot of intellectual property associated with it in terms of the design, and the products and processes we use within that. And what we would be looking into, is to replicate the factory that we have in the UK in other countries.

How did you discover the energy potential of coffee?

It was really through an idea I had while in the university. I studied architecture here in London, and I have always been fascinated by sustainable cities and how we can work more efficiently. And I was designing a coffee shop in a factory and I had an understanding of how much coffee waste was out there, and how thousands of tonnes are produced in the UK alone (500,000) tonnes. So I thought about how all that waste could be used for something useful instead of throwing it away. I started looking at how it can be turned into something useful, and with the help of fantastic scientists and engineers at bio-bean, we were able to take this concept and turn it into a reality. We made our first products – the pellets and the coffee logs – and then now really demonstrating it upscale with the bio-diesel.

What is the next stage for bio-bean?

The next step is upscaling and becoming more efficient. We are focused on selling our coffee logs primarily, as we are approaching the winter season here in the UK where it is very cold and everyone needs to turn up their heating. So, we are really focusing on selling our coffee logs and wrapping up production here in the UK before the future of expanding internationally.

How affordable is the bio-diesel to small organisations?

Absolutely affordable. With all of bio-bean’s products, and even the service we render in its production, we always make sure to be the sustainable choice, and that means the logical choice to make economically. The waste collection service is cheaper than other waste collection services, and our pellets are way cheaper than conventional fuels, and our coffee logs similarly. So you save money, as well as CO2 emissions. We are looking to replicate that with the bio-diesel as well. On top of that, they are not only cost effective and environmentally friendly, they also can be used within our existing internal combustion engines.

For a country like Nigeria with electricity challenge, how beneficial will bio-bean be in the long run?

It can be used on the diesel generators used in Nigeria. I do not want to say that this fuel will solve the electrical issues, this is really a demonstration of what can be done with it. If people can unlock the hidden potential within waste, there will be a surplus of energy, particularly locally produced fuels and that can be used eventually in your country.

Are there other things you would like Nigerians to know about this project?

We have been working extensively with the Nigerian team to try to incentivize a standard to join our programme. We have been doing this through Shell Livewire entrepreneurial week. We expect a big turn in the activities we are running soon and hopefully there will be more activities that Nigerians can get inspired through. So, they can think of energy as a way to utilise their capacity and ideas and turn them into reality in a market place.