Alex Zapantis
General Manager of External Affairs
Global CCS Institute
Moderator at:
- Session 6: Advancing Low-Carbon Hydrogen Production & Carbon Capture Solutions
17:00-
Alex joined the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute in 2016 where he is currently General Manager – External Affairs. Alex’s global team is accountable for delivering the Institute’s event management, publication, advocacy and public affairs functions. Alex has continuously worked on issues related to climate change and CCS since 2006. The first 12 years of Alex’s career were in Government and the university sector focussed on radiation management and safety, nuclear policy and environmental regulation and policy.
Alex has a Degree in Applied Science with a major in Physics, a Graduate Diploma in Health & Medical Physics and an MBA. After completing his degree, Alex worked as a physicist for the Queensland Government regulating the use of ionising radiation. From there, he moved to the Queensland University of Technology as the University Radiation Safety Officer before being appointed, in 1996, as the Health Physicist in the Office of the Supervising Scientist (OSS), part of the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage. In 2000 Alex was promoted to Assistant Secretary in the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage where he was accountable for delivering the Australian Government’s environmental audit, inspection and oversight programmes of uranium mining and exploration activities in Northern Territory, and for advising the Minister for the Environment and Heritage on uranium mining and nuclear fuel cycle policy issues. In 2004, Alex joined Energy Resources of Australia as the Environment Safety & Health Manager for the Ranger Uranium Mine and was transferred to Rio Tinto Australia’s head office in Melbourne in 2006 as Manager Energy and Sustainable Development for the Rio Tinto Energy Group.
Between 2006 and 2016, Alex held a number of roles in Rio Tinto Energy and Rio Tinto Coal Australia with a focus on energy and climate policy, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas management and product stewardship as applied to coal and uranium. During his time at Rio Tinto, Alex developed and led the implementation of Rio Tinto Energy’s Product Stewardship Strategy, managed Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s greenhouse gas and climate programs including reporting and compliance and emission reductions initiatives, created and managed Rio Tinto’s Energy Exchange Breakfast Series, and participated as part of the community engagement team for the Kwinana CCS project that was being developed by the Hydrogen Energy joint venture between Rio Tinto and BP. Alex also served on the boards of the Energy Policy Institute of Australia, Australian Coal Association Low Emissions Technology Ltd, the World Coal Association, and the Coal Industry Advisory Board to the International Energy Agency.