Aloe Energy
About

Small team, long view

Aloe Energy is a small, not-for-profit initiative focused on energy access and rural electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa. Like the aloe plant, the idea is to be tough, low-maintenance and useful where conditions are hard.

Portrait of Brandon Simons, founder of Aloe Energy
Founder

Brandon Simons

Power systems engineer, based in Zambia since 2024, working on rural electrification for most of the past decade.

What I'm doing today

I lead energy infrastructure development in North-Western Zambia. Day to day, that means helping shape a large grid-expansion and rural electrification program alongside the national utility and government, from geospatial planning and fieldwork to coordinating agencies and consultants. I also manage new solar and mini-grid projects for a rural utility that runs alongside the national grid, from contractor bidding through to operations, and support policy dialogue on distributed utilities and rural energy regulation.

It is hands-on proof of the questions Aloe Energy now works on: what happens when rural grids and mini-grids meet, and how to make sure batteries and solar equipment don't become tomorrow's waste.

Career

How I got here

  1. 2025 - present Energy infrastructure lead, North-Western Zambia

    Rural grid expansion with the national utility and government; solar and mini-grid projects for a rural utility.

  2. 2024 - 2025 Rural Electrification Engineer, NRECA International, Lusaka

    Supported five rural electric cooperatives and their mini-grids; member of Zambia's Off-Grid Task Force on resilience, e-waste, circular economy, climate finance and GIS planning.

  3. 2022 - 2024 Battery Applications Engineer, then Senior, ReJoule, California

    Grading and machine-learning matching of second-life EV batteries; reused about 1 MWh of EV batteries for microgrids in Southern California.

  4. 2022 - 2023 Co-founder and Executive Director, Aloe Energy

    Repurposing hybrid car batteries for solar homes in the Pacific; MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund.

  5. 2020 - 2022 Graduate Researcher, Villanova University

    Thesis on reused Prius batteries; solar-powered offline learning platform for schools in Cambodia; metering for rural solar service hubs in Zambia; renewable energy planning for local townships.

  6. 2021 Engineering Research Fellow, Engineering for Change

    Designed a solar electric cooking system with SolarBuddy for Papua New Guinea and Madagascar; IEEE GHTC 2021 panelist.

  7. 2018 - 2020 Peace Corps Volunteer, Kalomo, Zambia

    Rural aquaculture and income-generating projects with farmers; solar for a rural school, plus solar milling, milk chilling and water pumping designs.

  8. 2017 Sustainability Teacher, Chengdu, China

    Hands-on environmental and renewable energy workshops for high school students.

Education

  • M.S. Sustainable Engineering, Villanova University (renewable energy, sustainable systems and international development)
  • B.S. Electrical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology (power systems and energy policy)
  • Study abroad, Iceland School of Energy, Reykjavik University

Skills

  • Power systems, mini-grids and grid interconnection
  • Battery testing, grading and second-life storage
  • GIS and geospatial energy planning (QGIS, Python, open geodata)
  • Least-cost electrification and demand modeling
  • Power flow and grid studies (OpenDSS)
  • Python, data and machine learning
  • Financial modeling, procurement and regulation

Published

The repurposing of nickel metal hydride hybrid electric vehicle batteries for solar energy storage applications in rural Pacific Island communities, IEEE GHTC 2022.

Partners and programs

Who helped along the way

Past programs and partners whose support shaped Aloe Energy.

MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund

Supported Aloe Energy through its fall 2022, spring 2023 and summer 2023 cohorts with mentoring and seed funding.

Villanova University

Home of the thesis research, through the Department of Sustainable Engineering and the Center for Humanitarian Engineering.

IEEE GHTC

The IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference published the research in 2022.

Field Ready

Identified the Prius battery problem in Fiji and issued the call to action that started the research.

2nd Life Batteries and Bumblebee Batteries

Donated the used Prius battery modules tested in the lab.

SolarBuddy

Collaborated on solar cooking design in 2021 and on Community Buddy, a second-life solar mini-grid concept, in 2023.

Engineering for Change

Research fellowship in 2021 that paired Brandon with SolarBuddy on solar cooking for rural households.

Power Wells

Fellow energy-access non-profit and early conversation partner on pilot projects.

Work with us

Special thanks to thesis advisors Dr. Pritpal Singh, Prof. Iain Hunt and Dr. Jordan Ermilio at Villanova University.