RMIT University’s coffee concrete innovators have won an award at Universities Australia’s Shaping Australia Awards in the Problem Solver category.
Dr Rajeev Roychand, Professor Jie Li, Associate Professor Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, Dr Mohammad Saberian, Professor Guomin (Kevin) Zhang and Professor Chun Qing Li’s innovation strengthens concrete by 30% using biochar made from spent coffee grounds to give the drink-additive a ‘double shot’ at life and reduce waste going to landfill.
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The coffee biochar can replace a portion of the sand that is used to make concrete.
Roychand and Li received the Problem Solver 2024 People’s Choice Winner award on behalf of the team at Parliament House in Canberra.
This invention tackles major sustainability challenges. Australia generates around 75,000 tonnes of ground coffee waste annually, contributing to 6.87 million tonnes of organic waste in landfills, which account for 3% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Roychand, lead inventor of the coffee concrete said, “Winning this national award is outstanding recognition of our vision to transform waste materials into valuable construction resources.
“What began as research into coffee grounds has now evolved into a comprehensive program converting various types of organic waste into biochar that could help reshape the environmental footprint of the built environment.”
Within a year, the team progressed from the lab to real-world applications with industry and government partners, including a world-first footpath trial in Gisborne.
Their coffee concrete is also being used in Victoria’s Big Build projects, and is displayed in Germany’s prestigious Futurium museum as an innovative material for a sustainable future.
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Li said their research advanced sustainable construction, enabling the transformation of diverse organic waste streams into high-performance construction materials.
“This Australian-led innovation demonstrates how we can pioneer solutions for global environmental challenges,” he said.
