Coffee grounds. Despite the luscious dark liquid they deliver, they’re really just another form of waste matter. Some may compost it, some may send it to the landfill, some may garden with it, and who knows, maybe your favorite coffee shop does some good with it.

But London-based entrepreneur Arthur Kay recently won £400,000 for his eco-endeavors by using a patented method to turn coffee grounds into "Advanced Biofuels," which can be used to heat buildings and power transportation. His company, Bio Bean, collects used grounds from cafes and coffee factories and processes the waste into biodiesel to run transportation and biomass pellets to be sold to London’s businesses.

Idea of the Year - Bio Bean from Knife Film on Vimeo.

Kay, who studied Architecture at the University College of London, conceptualized his company while designing a coffee roasting plant and cafe. While investigating ways to power the building using the waste of its own product, he saw an innovative and sustainable business prospect, which blossomed into Bio Bean. With help from a team of engineers and financiers, Kay achieved great recognition for his revolution in renewable energy: "Emerging Innovator" for the Ellen MacAuthur Foundation, "London Leader" by Mayor Boris Johnson, the "UK's Most Innovative Entrepreneur" by Shell UK, and more.  

Bio Bean was designed with multiple global benefits in mind, the foremost being a source of clean, renewable energy that is affordable and easily accessible. Furthermore, by converting waste matter into a commodity, Bio Bean diverts from the landfill 30,000 of London’s 200,000 tons of coffee grounds produced each year.

By using something that is already a waste product of another commercially sold item, Kay avoids many of the pitfalls associated with other biofuel sources. By harvesting energy from something that might otherwise be thrown away, Bio Bean is taking clean energy a step further. Now all they have to do is expand like the wind.

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