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A Swiss Solar Thermal Disruptor
TVP is a Swiss company based in Geneva,
designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing
the world's most innovative and high-performance solar thermal flat plates
A New Energy Paradigm
Our mission: beat fossil fuels everywhere with a cheaper, carbon free alternative for thermal processes with super-performing high-vacuum flat solar thermal technology
Our vision: worldwide free energy from TVP energy-positive building construction components
Your Solution Is Here
TVP's Experienced Team
Piero Abbate
Founder & CEO
Piero Abbate
Founder & CEO
Co-founder of TVP in 2008; leads vision, strategy, int’l expansion, team building, fundraising, marketing & PR, sales offering & pricing, M&A, and energy infrastructure investments.
He has 20+ years of experience as entrepreneur, manager and investor in high-tech companies: from financing to growth, global build-up and exit. From 1999 to 2007, he was Co-Founder and Partner at myQube, a venture capital firm with operating offices in Geneva, Helsinki, Milan, Munich and Palo Alto, focused on high-tech early-stage investments in EU and USA. Hands-on private equity investor, his exits include: Netikos (expansion), TechEdge (seed), Etnoteam (turnaround), Fintech (secondary), German Networks (distressed). Prior to myQube, he was in the corporate finance division at Creditanstalt Investment Bank in London.
Piero holds a degree in business administration from Bocconi University in Milan.
Vittorio Palmieri
Founder & CTO
Vittorio Palmieri
Founder & CTO
Co-Founder of TVP in 2008; leads design, R&D, engineering and patenting of TVP innovations in high-vacuum technology, products as well as production machineries.
He has 20+ years of experience as scientist and inventor of disruptive high-vacuum insulation technologies: from conceiving to prototyping and deployment. From 2004 to 2007 Founder and MD at SRB Energy, a CERN renewable energy spin-off, that he successfully exited. From 2000 to 2004 he was Director at venture capital firm myQube, responsible for the Geneva office, spin-offs and technology due diligence. Prior, at CERN, he led the RD39 collaboration contributing to the development of the Large Hardon Collider.
The youngest ever spokesperson of any CERN collaboration, he is author of 12 patents. He was awarded a prize from the University of Bern for the discovery of the Lazarus Effect in semiconductor detectors.
Vittorio holds a Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of Bern.
Sofia Abbate
CFO
Sofia Abbate
CFO
Sofia joined TVP Solar in 2013, responsible for financial reporting and planning, debt raising and investor relations, administration and control. She coordinated application and reporting to several EU and national funding programs/grants to support CAPEX in manufacturing equipment and R&D.
From 2011 to 2013, she was Investment Manager at Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, the Italian government-sponsored Private Equity firm (>€1 billion AUM), in charge of investment due diligence and execution. She contributed to the definition of a co-investment agreement with the European Investment Fund for over €200 million. From 2008 to 2010 she was Investment Analyst at Idea Capital Funds SGR, the largest Private Equity firm in Italy (€2 billion AUM). Sofia holds a degree in corporate finance from Bocconi University in Milan.
Michele Merola
Head of Manufacturing
Michele Merola
Head of Manufacturing
Joined TVP in 2018; leads manufacturing with focus on throughput, yield, workflow, organization and layout optimization, driven by quality standards.
He has 25+ years of experience in manufacturing of glass-based products in millions of units per year.
From 2010 to 2017 he was Production Engineer Manager of the largest EU production site of Asahi Glass Corporation (AGC, worldwide leader in mass-produced glass products) focused on glass lamination and coating. He was member of AGC central R&D group in Brussels. Prior he matured 10-year experience in the glass industry as Production Manager at Fining Group and Sangalli Vetro, and 16 years in the metallurgic industry as Process Manager at Laminazione Sottile Spa. During his career he implemented TQM, SPC, TPM and SEM for quality and management control.
Michele holds a degree in chemical engineering at University of Naples.
Francesco Vitobello
COO and VP Industrial Engineering
Francesco Vitobello
COO and VP Industrial Engineering
Joined TVP in 2012; leads engineering, set-up, automation, control, upgrading and ISO-based certification of production processes and machineries. In charge for suppliers’ qualification and technical procurement.
He has 20+ years of experience in quality control/audit, planning and management of industrial processes and process engineering: from design to qualification for volume production, certification and technology transfer. He is a qualified Lead Auditor for industrial processes/ISO at quality certifier CSQ. From 2002 to 2012 he was researcher at national Research Council (CNR) in Italy in charge for technology transfer, and process engineering for several start-ups: Nexio, Incept, Siris Italia, Airq Networks. Prior he was head of networking division at Softplumbers, a Geneva-based ICT start-up. He started his career as fellow at CNR.
Francesco holds a degree in electronic engineering at University of Naples.
Gilbert Farina
VP Sales
Gilbert Farina
VP Sales
Joined TVP in 2017; leads global sales expansion and go-to-market, sales engagement process, sales value proposition, sales channels development, key account management with multinational corporations.
He has 30+ years of experience in high-tech company int’l sales and sales organizations growth to billions in revenues, mostly via enterprise sales and B2B. From 1995 to 2012 at Hewlett-Packard with various roles: 2006-2012 VP Sales EMEA growing revenue from $1.7 to $3.4 billion; 2003-2006 VP & GM PSG France; 1997-2003 GM Africa; 1995-1996 Corporate Channel Development Manager Europe. From 2012 to 2015 he was Chief Commercial Officer at CIS Group, an ICT solution provider active in 30 countries in the MENA region. From 2015 to 2017 he acted as senior advisor for Swiss high-tech start-ups: darTZeel, Windsoft, Optimiso.
Gilbert holds an electrical engineering degree from University of Geneva and YMP at INSEAD.
Marcelo Leite
Country Manager - Brazil
Marcelo Leite
Country Manager - Brazil
Joined TVP in 2014; leads direct sales, development of channel partner, business development, key account management. Client development includes: PepsiCo, Coca Cola, J. Deere, Ambev, Philip Morris.
From 2009 to 2013 he was Sales Manager at National Oilwell Varco and previously at Galcorr Seguros focusing on the oil & gas market. From 2004 to 2008 he was at PWC in the management consulting division as Supervisor mainly involved in organizational restructuring projects.
Marcelo holds an MBA from Brazilian Institute of Markets and Capital (IBMEC) and a degree in business administration from Candido Mendes University.
Hans-Joerg Felbick
Country Manager - Germany
Hans-Joerg Felbick
Country Manager - Germany
Joined TVP in 2021; leads deal sourcing, sales, development of channel partner, bidding to tenders and business development in district heating with local utilities and authorities in Germany and Austria.
He has 25+ years of experience in C-level management, entry and sales organization set-up of foreign high-tech and renewable companies in the German energy sector, with extensive track record in power, CHP and district heating projects. For 11 years he was MD of Brugg Pipesystem AG focusing on sales to district heating operators. Prior he introduced and grew in Germany sales organization of technology and renewable energy companies like Redex (FR), Dinamic Oil, Enginion and Comer (IT). Started his career at Deutsche Babcock for power plants, then for 7 years in Geneva at Caterpillar.
Hans-Jörg holds a degree in business administration from University of Köln.
Florent Bicanic
Country Manager - France
Florent Bicanic
Country Manager - France
Joined TVP in 2021; leads deal sourcing, development of channel partner, direct sales and access to national and regional subsidies in France.
He has 20 years of experience as manager focusing on sales organization set-up in the energy sector in France. Among his mandates he was Regional Director at Weishaupt in geothermal and Key Account Manager at BDR Thermea specialized in HVAC solutions. For 12 years Techno-Commercial Manager at Giordano Industries, leading French renewable and solar thermal solution provider. Prior at Total Energies he was Regional Sales Director in Reunion Island.
Florent holds a degree in economics and business administration from ICD in Paris.
Jonathan Koifman
Head Channel Partner Development
Jonathan Koifman
Head Channel Partner Development
Joined TVP in 2010; leads partner and channel sales development globally, as well as direct sales in the USA.
He has 12 years of experience at TVP building partnership programs, engagement processes linking sales with engineering, and tools. The network currently spans over 10 countries, with more than 15 partners. Previously he was Commercial & Investment Real Estate Sales Associate at CORE Group in New York (2009-2010), Capital Introduction Specialist /Marketing & Client Services at the Royal Bank of Canada (2007-2008) and Financial Analyst for International Real Returns (2005-2007).
Jonathan holds a B.S. in electrical engineering and a B.A. in English Literature, both from Bucknell University in Lewisburg (USA).
Florent Saunier
Sales Operations & Country Manager - Switzerland
Florent Saunier
Sales Operations & Country Manager - Switzerland
Joined TVP in 2017; leads sales back-office tools and processes, including CRM and lead qualification, as well as channel partner pipe development, direct sales and access to national/regional subsidies in Switzerland. Previously he was in sales operations at Nissan Automotive, first in charge of several back-office tasks such as market analysis, business cases analysis, investor negotiations support, franchising managers performance monitoring, development of a mid-term plan strategy tool (2015-2016), contributing to the opening of 32 new dealerships. Then as Sales Operation Officer (2016-2017) he was in charge of continuity and development of sales & CRM tools for all Western Europe dealerships.
Florent holds master in entrepreneurship at Grenoble Ecole de Management and a degree in micro & nano technologies (EPFL, Politecnico di Torino, Grenoble INP Phelma).
F. Di Giamberardino
VP Product Engineering
F. Di Giamberardino
VP Product Engineering
Joined TVP in 2008; leads engineering of high-vacuum solar thermal panel and related production machineries. He has 35+ years of experience in engineering of high-vacuum products produced in millions of units per year; from blueprint to upgrades and mass manufacturing.
From 1984 to 2008 Product Development Manager at Thomson (now Videocon), he coordinated the design, engineering and standardization of 35 releases of cathode ray tubes (CRT) televisions sizing from 14 to 62”. His products were mass produced over 15 years with a rate of 24 million sets per year. He supervised introduction of new releases in 6 production facilities globally. He was also responsible for patent infringement control. Prior he was at ENEA Research Centre, the Italian national bureau of alternative energy.
Author of 3 patents, Francesco holds a degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Rome.
Matteo Monti
Head of R&D
Matteo Monti
Head of R&D
Matteo joined TVP in 2017 to develop and improve materials, processes, and formulations applied to high-vacuum devices and new products. He provides technical assistance in the areas of material selection, engineering, experimental techniques and manufacturing processes.
Prior to TVP he had 7 years of international experience as researcher focused on design, assembly and deposition of new materials for thin-film/coating and related process & equipment production development under contract with tier-1 R&D centres: Stanford University/USA; Sandia National Labs/USA; Lawrence Berkley National Labs California/USA; Spanish National Research Council/Spain, National Distance Education of Madrid/Spain, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven/Belgium. During his scientific career he was awarded with several grants and fellowships and he was author of 20 scientific peer-reviewed publications. Matteo holds a Ph.D. in material science and engineering at Stanford University (USA), MS and Ph.D. in physics at Universidad Autonoma di Madrid (Spain) and a degree in chemical science at University of Padova.
Roberto Vitobello
Head of Field Engineering
Roberto Vitobello
Head of Field Engineering
Joined TVP in 2019; leads engineering, procurement and construction of TVP solar plants.
He has 20 years of engineering experience in the energy, renewable and power sector. From 2012 to 2018 he was Technical Director in charge for project engineering at Elettrovit, a leading developer of high-voltage power line & MV/LV transformers. Prior he was founder and partner of Nexio, an engineering company specialized in HVAC deployments for large clients (e.g. H&M, Mont Blanc) and renewable energy. He engineered and supervised construction of wind and PV systems for industrial clients. He is a qualified Lead Auditor for industrial processes/ISO at quality certified agency CSQ. Started his career as researcher at CNR.
Roberto holds a degree in telecommunication engineering from University of Naples.
Yoghesh Moghekar
Head of Pre-Sale Engineering
Yoghesh Moghekar
Head of Pre-Sale Engineering
Joined TVP in 2020; leads engineering and system integration assessment during pre-sale phase as well as end-client site surveys. From 2003 to 2020 he was Head of Services at Oil & Petrochem Division of Forbes Marshall, a leading Indian player in energy conservation and process efficiency along with control instrumentations. Leading a team of 40 engineers he was responsible for techno commercial, audit & design of steam/condensate systems for process industries like refineries, fertilizers & petrochemical plants. He also coordinated several turnkey projects execution & management in industrial plants. He supported marketing and sales divisions and was also in charge for post-sale services.
Yogesh holds a degree in mechanical engineering at Y.B. Patil Politechnic in Pune.
Guglielmo Cioni
VP Business Development
Guglielmo Cioni
VP Business Development
Joined TVP in 2018; leads business development with EU energy utilities, partnership with infrastructure project developers, origination for project development, new business models, new applications, CO2 strategy, innovation funding, lobbying within industry association and gov’ts.
He has 25+ years of experience in international business development with focus on energy, renewables and carbon assets; and he is an expert evaluator for the EU Commission. From 2008 to 2013 he was General Manager at Green Initiative Carbon Assets SA, the first ever EU private carbon fund (€60 million AUM). In 2011 he founded Eranova Climate, a sales & marketing agency for clean tech start-ups. Prior he served for 15 years as a Director at Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) mainly working in Poland and China.
Guglielmo holds a nuclear engineering degree from University of Pisa and master in finance from Solvay Business School in Brussels.
Silvio Sparano
Head Oil & Gas
Silvio Sparano
Head Oil & Gas
Joined TVP in 2021; leads business development and sales origination with oil & gas players, engineering of steam and thermal storage-based solutions, partnership with thermal storage suppliers.
He has 20+ years of experience in oil downstream (refining & petrochemicals, trading, logistics, sales & marketing). He managed assets & capital-intensive projects, led operations and business development both in mature and developing markets. He was with Total Energies for 12 years: 2012-2014 Director of Operations & Finance at Total Vostok in Russia; 2010-2012 at Total Lubricans in Romania; previously Corporate Auditor in Paris and Refinery Optimizer in London and Martigues (FR). From 2014 to 2016 he was Financial Manager Supply at Puma Energy (subsidiary of Trafigura) in South Africa. From 2017 to 2019 Director Supply & Operations at Jovena in Madagascar.
Silvio holds a master’s degree in Oil Refining at IFP in Paris and a degree in chemical engineering.
Dimitrios Papageorgiou
Innovation Fund Manager
Dimitrios Papageorgiou
Innovation Fund Manager
Joined TVP in 2020; responsible for identifying and assessing research & innovation funding programs, elaborate proposals and organizing consortia.
He has 20+ years of experience in applied research and innovation consultancy, being involved in more than 200 hundred RTD and innovation proposals as well as 20 EU funded projects. From 2015 to 2019 Head of the Proposal Preparation Team at Information Technology Institute (ITI). From 2008 to 2014 Research and Innovation Consultant at INTERIN. From 2203 to 2007 Head of Development at Q-Plan. Prior was a Management Consultant at Atlantis Consulting.
Dimitrios holds an MBA from ALBA Business School and a mechanical engineering degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
“Peter” Deng Liang
Biz Dev - China
“Peter” Deng Liang
Biz Dev - China
Joined TVP in 2019; coordinates local supply chain establishment, sales network development, product local certification and qualification to local subsidies as well as interacts with local authorities.
From 2015 to 2018 he was Sales Manager and Procurement Specialist at Premier Solar Technologies in Dubai, solution provider for solar heat & cool for commercial buildings. Prior he was at Broad Air Conditioning, in Changsha global leader in absorption chillers where over 10 years he covered various technical & business development roles up to Regional Sales Manager for Middle East.
Peter holds a mechanical engineering degree from University of Hunan.