Stefaan J. R. Simons is a

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

and senior

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

employed by the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. In 2012, he was appointed Director of the International Energy Policy Institute (IEPI) and the inaugural

BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

Chair of Energy Policy at

UCL Australia UCL Australia was an international campus of the University College London, located on Victoria Square, Adelaide, Victoria Square in Adelaide, South Australia. It had three parts: the School of Energy and Resources (SERAus), the International En ...

. Prior to moving to Australia, Simons established the School of Engineering at

Nazarbayev University Nazarbayev University (NU) is an autonomous research university in Astana, Kazakhstan. It was founded by the former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in June 2010. It is an English-medium institution, with an international faculty an ...

in Kazakhstan-– the world's largest producer of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

. Simons' work has been published in over 200 journals, books and conference proceedings.

Education

Simons has a Science degree with honours from the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

(1986) and a PhD from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

Institute of Science and Technology.

Career

Simons' chemical engineering career has focused on particle technology applications for the mineral resources and pharmaceutical sectors. Simons was awarded a

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

Global Research Fellowship to further the development of low-carbon technologies and processes for energy and chemical industries. His fellowship was undertaken at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

(2009) and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

(2010). Simons has worked with universities in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

since 1994, developing chemical engineering degree curricula there. He spent three years establishing the School of Engineering at

Astana, Kazakhstan Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

’s capital city. The university is a strategic partner of the University College London. In August 2012, Simons moved from Astana to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

to assume his dual roles at the International Energy Policy Institute.

Carbon8 Systems

Simons is also the Director of Engineering at Carbon8 Systems, a British company which was created in 2006 to commercialize "accelerated carbonation" processes for waste treatment. The processes were developed by researchers working at UCL and the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

. The process is applicable to the

incineration Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

of municipal garbage, an activity becoming increasingly common in Europe and responsible for the production of hazardous

fly ash Coal combustion products (CCPs), also called coal combustion wastes (CCWs) or coal combustion residuals (CCRs), are byproducts of burning coal. They are categorized in four groups, each based on physical and chemical forms derived from coal combust ...

. Carbon8's accelerated carbonation processes make the byproduct of garbage incineration cheaper to dispose of and can also produce aggregates which can then be used as construction materials. Carbon8 claims to have produced the world's first commercially available

carbon negative Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a process in which carbon dioxide () is removed from the atmosphere by deliberate human activities and durably stored in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products.IPCC, 2021:Annex VII: Glossar ...

aggregates. In 2012, the University of Greenwich said that the processes also had potential use in the management of nuclear wastes. Commercial prospects for accelerated carbonation attracted the interest of Grundon Waste Management, which has since invested millions of pounds in the establishment of a new company called Carbon8 Aggregates. The first commercial Carbon8 facility treated wastes from Grundon's

energy-from-waste Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) refers to a series of processes designed to convert waste materials into usable forms of energy, typically electricity or heat. As a form of energy recovery, WtE plays a crucial role in both wa ...

plant at

Colnbrook Colnbrook is a village in the Borough of Slough, Slough district in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic counties of England, historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, ...

. The Colnbrook incinerator first began incinerating garbage in 1990 and low-level radioactive waste in 2010. A doubling of infant mortality rates in the nearby town of

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

was recorded between 2010 and 2012. The increased mortality ran counter to the national trend (one of steady, gradual improvement) and prompted speculation that the incineration could be linked to the change.

Nuclear industrial advocacy

Since his appointment at UCL Australia, Simons has posed the questions: ''What would it take to establish a nuclear submarine capability in Australia?'' ''Is it time for nuclear energy for Australia?'' and has advocated for

nuclear power in Australia Nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of practical debate since the mid-20th century. Australia has never had a nuclear power plant, and has only one nuclear reactor (OPAL), the third in a series at Lucas Heights, New South Wales, which ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Stefaan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British chemical engineers Alumni of the University of Surrey Alumni of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Academic staff of University College London Australia