Ford and McDonald's work to turn coffee chaff into car parts

Ford Motor Company and McDonald's U.S.A will soon be giving vehicles a caffeine boost by using part of a familiar staple in the morning routine, coffee beans, in vehicle parts such as headlamp housings.

Every year, millions of pounds of coffee chaff - the dried skin of the bean - naturally comes off during the roasting process. Together, Ford and McDonald's can provide an innovative new home to a significant portion of that material.

The companies found that chaff can be converted into a durable material to reinforce certain vehicle parts. By heating the chaff to high temperatures under low oxygen, mixing it with plastic and other additives and turning it into pellets, the material can be formed into various shapes.

The chaff composite meets the quality specifications for parts like head light housings and other interior and under hood components. The resulting components will be about 20% lighter and require up to 25% less energy during the moulding process. Heat properties of the chaff component are significantly better than the currently used material, according to Ford. This is the first time Ford has used coffee bean skins to convert into select vehicle parts.

McDonald's is expected to direct a significant portion of its coffee chaff in North America to Ford to be incorporated into vehicle parts.