Transforming sustainable coffee roasting with 30 percent shorter development cycles

Proof is in the roast

CEE, an engineering company founded by clean-tech entrepreneur and engineer Koen Bosmans, took an unconventional path: They founded a coffee roasting business. With the philosophy that the most effective way to prove a concept is to implement it yourself, the Belgian company set out to prove that decarbonizing the coffee industry was not only possible, but commercially viable.

CEE’s mission was clear: Deliver measurable reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, improving energy-intensive processes by using smarter, more efficient thermal treatment systems. From day one, the company chose to go beyond theory and demonstrate its technology in action.

“We wanted to build a clean-tech company that truly walks the talk,” says Bosmans. “Instead of waiting for others to take the first step, we decided to show what’s possible.”

Sarah Bergé from Ray & Jules checking the roasting process in Hamme-Mille, Belgium.

Engineering a sustainable coffee revolution

In 2014, while working on thermal treatment systems for the food industry, CEE’s team discovered a persistent problem: Conventional roasting relied on batch processes with extreme heat, inconsistent product quality and massive energy waste. Most roasters operated on fossil fuels, making them both inefficient and environmentally unsustainable.

Rather than developing technology in isolation, CEE chose a bold and creative route. The company founded Ray & Jules, their own coffee brand, to showcase their engineering innovation and prove that sustainability and profitability can coexist.

“Big companies are often too risk-averse to try something truly new,” explains Bosmans. “So we decided to become our own first customer. That’s how Ray & Jules was born – as living proof of our technology.”

In 2017, they acquired a small roastery and began transforming it into a fully solar-powered production facility. CEE designed and built a continuous flow-roasting system that operated at lower temperatures, consumed 50 percent less energy during roasting and could run entirely on renewable power. After two years of research and development (R&D) and pilot testing, Ray & Jules launched in 2019 as the world’s first zero-emission coffee roastery.

The innovation delivered. The solar-powered roasting line achieved consistent product quality, lowered operating costs and eliminated the use of fossil fuels. The brand quickly grew to serve over 35,000 customers in Belgium and inspired other food producers to rethink their processes.

Located in Geel, Belgium, CEE produces clean-tech industrial equipment for the coffee roasting industry among others.

Designing sustainability from the inside out

The success of Ray & Jules is primarily due to an engineering-first mindset. Each component, from heat exchangers and air ducts to sensors and control panels, was meticulously designed and optimized using Designcenter Solid Edge® software and Simcenter™ FLOEFD™ software.

CEE’s engineers used Designcenter Solid Edge for detailed 3D modeling, making sure that even complex assemblies of pipes, insulation and moving parts fit seamlessly into a compact footprint. Every element was validated virtually before a single piece of metal was cut.

“Designcenter Solid Edge is central to our workflow,” says Bosmans. “It allows us to model the entire system down to nuts and bolts, so the on-site implementation runs smoothly and quickly. There’s no guesswork, everything is prevalidated.”

Using Simcenter FLOEFD, CEE performed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to analyze airflows and thermal behavior inside the roaster. The team could test different geometries and materials virtually to achieve the ideal heat distribution curve, making sure that coffee beans roasted uniformly while minimizing energy input.

This iterative approach reduced design cycles, cut prototyping costs and produced data-backed insights into every engineering decision.

Ray & Jules’ roasting process is exclusively powered by solar energy, making them the first zero-emission coffee roastery.

Eliminating rework with Designcenter NX point-cloud scanning

To ensure that what they build in the factory fits precisely on-site, CEE extends its digital-twin process with Designcenter NX™ software, part of the Designcenter suite, leveraging point-cloud scanning and layout verification.

Using a 3D laser scanner, the engineering team captures point-cloud data from customer facilities and imports it directly into Designcenter NX. Prior to installation, they superimpose the Designcenter Solid Edge design onto the scanned environment to check for collisions, clearances and alignment.

“We scan the complete installation site, import and integrate the digital twin we designed, and check if it fits or not,” says Kristof Cambré, chief product officer at CEE. “In most cases, we have down-to-the-millimeter accuracy.”

This Designcenter NX powered workflow eliminates costly rework and installation surprises, linking digital design and physical execution with outstanding precision.

In addition to site scanning, Designcenter NX plays a critical role in new projects in other industries. CEE uses Designcenter NX to merge point-cloud data with as-built geometry, delivering new modules or systems that fit flawlessly into existing infrastructure, a critical factor in retrofit and upgrade projects. The result is a repeatable “scan-to-fit” workflow that links digital engineering to physical execution across sectors.

Designcenter NX, Designcenter Solid Edge and Simcenter are part of the Siemens Xcelerator business platform of software, hardware and services.

Designing the entire production line in Designcenter Solid Edge.

Reliability by design: evidence-based engineering in practice

What sets CEE apart is its unique approach, which Bosmans calls “evidence-based engineering.” It’s a method that merges empirical testing with digital simulation to create reliable, scalable industrial solutions.

“We always combine simulation with real measurements,” Bosmans explains. “We run small-scale lab tests on the customer’s actual product to understand how it behaves thermally – how fast it heats, how it evaporates moisture – and feed those results back into the Designcenter Solid Edge and Simcenter models. That’s where the magic happens.”

By feeding precise, experimentally derived parameters into the digital twin, CEE achieves simulation accuracy that traditional modeling alone can’t match. This data-driven workflow drastically reduces uncertainty when scaling from laboratory prototypes to full commercial systems.

As a result, CEE can confidently design equipment that performs exactly as expected in the real world, which is a critical factor when convincing conservative industries to adopt new technologies.

The team examines structural performance in Simcenter 3D.

Proving the business case for green technology

The Ray & Jules project became much more than a coffee venture. It evolved into a real-world, hands-on laboratory, a living showcase where global food brands could see green technology in action.

CEE invited industrial partners from the coffee, cocoa and malt sectors to test their own products at the roastery. These trials provided product-specific data demonstrating that clean technology could match or exceed the performance of conventional systems without fossil fuels, inspiring major producers to adopt green systems.

“That’s what changed the conversation,” says Bosmans. “When companies see their own beans roasted on our system – with perfect results and no emissions – they realize the opportunity. The proof is right there in the roast.”

This strategy transformed CEE’s reputation from an emerging clean-tech firm to a trusted technology provider driving measurable impact in energy-intensive sectors.

Siemens Xcelerator provides a core toolset to design and engineer CEE’s innovative clean-tech roasters and dryers.

Scaling innovation across industries

With the success of Ray & Jules as proof of concept, CEE began applying its expertise beyond coffee, extending to sectors such as cocoa processing, cereal drying and construction materials. The company’s expertise in thermal systems, airflow control and process simulation gives it an edge in any industry where heat and energy efficiency matter.

By leveraging the Siemens Xcelerator ecosystem, CEE integrates design, simulation and data management into a seamless digital workflow. This allows the team to iterate faster, collaborate across disciplines and maintain full traceability from concept to production.

“The combination of Designcenter Solid Edge, Designcenter NX and Simcenter gives us the tools to test ideas quickly and with confidence,” says Bosmans. “It shortens development time and helps us deliver innovations that are both sustainable and profitable.”

“Our Designcenter and Simcenter tools from Siemens allow us to predict how our design and digital twin will perform in real-life production,” adds Cambré. “We can rest assured what we will deliver will be high quality.”

CEE is expanding globally, establishing partnerships and projects across Europe and North America. Their vertically integrated model – combining consulting, design and manufacturing – makes sure that each customer receives not just technology, but a complete solution grounded in real-world performance.

The team begins with designs in Designcenter Solid Edge.

Shaping a sustainable industrial future

CEE’s story exemplifies how engineering excellence and sustainability can reinforce each other. With Designcenter Solid Edge, Designcenter NX, Simcenter FLOEFD and Siemens Xcelerator, CEE has built a bridge between digital innovation and tangible climate impact.

“Our vision is to prove that clean technology isn’t just possible, it’s better,” says Bosmans. “With Siemens tools, we can simulate, measure and scale faster than ever. That’s how we make sustainability the new normal.”

CEE continues to refine its methods and extend its technologies to new applications, paving the way for a greener industrial future; one perfectly roasted coffee bean at a time.

Koen Bosmans, the founder and owner of CEE.