Francesco Fatone

Francesco Fatone is Full Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Università Politecnica delle Marche (Italy) and Honorary Visiting Professor at Imperial College London (UK). He is an IWA Fellow and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Technical University of Iași (Romania).

His research focuses on cleaner production, circular water economy, resource recovery, wastewater treatment and reuse, urban-industrial symbiosis, and sustainable environmental technologies, with particular emphasis on translating scientific advances into full-scale applications and resource-efficient industrial processes. Since 2013, he and his research group have secured over €14 million in European research and industrial funding, coordinating major international projects, including the Horizon 2020 SMART-Plant Innovation Action, and leading activities in numerous Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, LIFE and PRIMA projects. He has authored over 180 Scopus-indexed publications, receiving more than 7,000 citations (H-index 47).

He has held leadership positions within Water Europe, IWA and international scientific networks. He also serves on the ECOMONDO Scientific Technical Committee, coordinating the Water thematic area.

His professional activities span the entire pathway from scientific research and technology demonstration to industrial investment, regulatory assessment and large-scale implementation. He serves on the Italian National Technical Committee for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA-SEA) and provides scientific and technical expertise to the Italian National Extraordinary Commissioner for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse. These roles provide him with a comprehensive perspective on the scientific, technological, environmental, regulatory and investment challenges of implementing cleaner production and circular economy solutions.