Nestlé invests 22 million in Girona to use coffee grounds as fuel

If it has always been said that coffee grounds could be added to plants as fertilizer, a company like Nestlé had to find a way to take advantage of all the waste it generates in coffee production. At its plant in Girona, where it manufactures Nescafé soluble coffee and Nescafé Dolce capsules, it will invest 22 million euros to reuse the more than 52,000 tons of coffee grounds it generates annually. "It is a clear example of a circular economy," explains the general director of Nestlé Spain, Jordi Llach. By 2050, the Swiss multinational aims to achieve the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The Girona factory began testing this new energy source in 2020. In the process of manufacturing Nescafé soluble coffee, coffee grounds are obtained after cleaning, roasting, and grinding the coffee beans. The waste is a vegetable product that can be used as fuel due to its high calorific value. Four years ago, Nestlé invested 17 million euros in commissioning a boiler that allowed transforming coffee grounds into steam, which, in addition, allowed reducing its natural gas consumption.

Now, it will be accompanied by a second boiler, raising the global investment to almost 40 million euros. The new boiler is expected to come into operation in mid-2025. As a novelty, highlights the head of Sustainability projects at Nestlé Spain, Miguel Antúnez, the factory will also begin to use wood chips from nearby forests as raw material. The boilers will be accompanied by two warehouses, with a capacity of 900 cubic meters.

Both boilers are expected to generate 116,000 tons of steam annually, so that by the end of next year, 80% of the steam needed by the plant will come from this renewable source. According to Nestlé, CO2 emissions will be reduced by 18,000 tons. In other factories of the group, such as those that produce Nesquik, cocoa residues are also reused as an energy source.

"In coffee production, we are leaders within the group, we are ahead of other countries and they follow us," says the general director for Spain. Since its construction in 1968, the Girona factory has become one of Nestlé's benchmark coffee factories, covering the Iberian market, but also sending product all over the world, currently reaching 90% export, with the prominence of countries such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Greece and Mexico.

"In coffee production in Girona, we are leaders within the group, we are ahead of other countries and they follow us," says Jordi Llach

The Girona plant began producing soluble coffee and, from 2009, added capsules after an investment of 150 million euros. Since then, the multinational's commitment to this production center has accelerated to increase productivity and competitiveness with pioneering proposals such as the revaluation of coffee grounds, a pilot that Llach has no doubt will extend to other plants in the group. Recently, in 2022, Nestléannounceda 100 million euro investment to strengthen production processes, plans that also included the delocalization to Vietnam of the decaffeinated coffee production line."The Girona factory is in constant growth," underlines the executive.The workforce stands at over 870 employees.

Across Spain, Nestlé invested some 70 million last year in updating its ten factories, with three more in Catalonia, located in Castellbisbal, Reus, and Viladrau. For this year, the company expects to move in similar figures. "We will not be far from 2023," says Llach. In addition, the company expects "to have a good 2024," based on volume growth, after having risen last year due to inflation. Throughout the country, with its first factory installed in La Penilla de Cayón (Cantabria), the multinational invoices 2,496 million euros and employs 4,150 workers. Globally, it is present in 188 countries and has 275,000 workers.