Our history

Sustainability has always been part of who we are.

While Genius Watter might be a young company, the idea behind our inception didn’t come along by pure chance. We actually have lengthy experience in the solar energy industry under our belt.

Back in 1981, co-founder Franco Traverso opened the first company to manufacture solar cells and modules in Carmignano di Brenta (in the Italian province of Padua).

This marked the start of a journey paved with important experiences, technological innovations, successes, ideas and plenty of challenges that were overcome, with a single goal: to have a positive impact with what we do.

We are a young business, with lengthy experience as pioneers of solar energy under our belt.

Today, we are experiencing our greatest challenge, inspired by a famous phrase:

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

And so our history as Life Changers began.

Franco Traverso, a pioneer in the solar industry.

1981

Franco Traverso, co-founder, president and CTO of Genius Watter, establishes the company named Helios Technology srl and embarks on his entrepreneurial journey into the photovoltaic industry, more specifically the manufacture of latest generation cells and modules, employing techniques that are revolutionary for the time, and developing the market in Europe and Africa.

1983

Design and build of a solar-powered pumping system in Burundi, designed to provide 5,000 people living in surrounding villages with access to water (at the time, it was the highest solar pumping operation in the world, as it pumped water to a height of 250 metres), and a hybrid pumping system (solar + diesel) for a fish farming facility near Lake Turkana, in Kenya.

1986

Franco sets up a company, based in Nairobi, for the sale and distribution of photovoltaic kits and energy and water-pumping systems across the Horn of Africa.

1988-1990

Design and build of over 2,000 standalone PV systems for use by Italian farms. Over the same period, Franco designs and produces the first 15 battery-free water pumping systems in Sardinia.

1993

Production of the largest ever system of solar-powered streetlamps produced to date, for the Italian province of Brindisi.

1992-2000

Through his Helios Technology company, Franco undertakes no less than 6 know-how transfers and the supply of equipment and systems for the manufacture of solar modules in Sweden, South Africa, China, India, and Croatia. Joint ventures are established with local partners.

2007

Silfab Srl is founded to produce Polysilicon, a hyperpure raw material that is strategic in the solar value chain.

2010

Inception of Silfab Solar Inc., with facilities in Canada and the US, specializing in the production of high-efficiency solar modules, with an annual production capacity of 1.2 GW and over 650 employees.

 2014

Franco establishes a company through which he launches the production of an innovative bifacial high-efficiency solar cell, designed by him in conjunction with an international team.

Our history

2018-2019

Genius Watter is founded in 2018: we start planning a future in which clean water becomes an instrument for changing the world and improving the lives of many. We produce the experimental system/first pilot plant in Cape Verde, along with other solar projects.

2020-2021

We produce the first real plant in a village in Cape Verde, which earns Genius Watter the accolade of “Solar Innovation of the year” awarded by the African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA).

2022

We start standardizing processes, methods and components to ensure each project offers high performance and operates correctly over the years. Growth continues in Cape Verde, and we open a new market in Somalia.

2023

This is the year we start expanding into other countries, like Zanzibar, Kenya, Tanzania, the Mediterranean region and Italy.

…so what does Genius Watter's future hold?

We have so many goals, all fuelled by the passion and expertise of an international team:

Being Life Changers, ensuring sustainable access to clean water from seawater, brackish and hard water sources wherever it is needed across the globe, paving the way for additional markets.

Continuing to be a business whose every action is driven by sustainability, and whose unwavering focus is to achieve the best social, environmental and humanitarian outcomes.

Futuro

Events

More than a professional choice, the desire to change the world is first and foremost a life choice.

A commitment we doggedly pursue with a passion.

Privacy Policy

Regulation regard to the processing of personal data

Genius Watter S.r.l.  is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. Pursuant to regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), you consent to the data practices described in this statement.

Collection of your Personal Information

Genius Watter S.r.l.  collects personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address or telephone number. Genius Watter S.r.l.  also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favorites.

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by Genius Watter S.r.l.. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. This information is used by Genius Watter S.r.l.  for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the Genius Watter S.r.l.  Web site.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through Genius Watter S.r.l.  public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Genius Watter S.r.l.  does not read any of your private online communications.

Genius Watter S.r.l.  encourages you to review the privacy statements of Web sites you choose to link to from Genius Watter S.r.l.  so that you can understand how those Web sites collect, use and share your information. Genius Watter S.r.l.  is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on Web sites outside of the Genius Watter S.r.l.  and Genius Watter S.r.l.  family of Web sites.

Use of your Personal Information

Genius Watter S.r.l.  collects and uses your personal information to operate the Genius Watter S.r.l.  Web site and deliver the services you have requested. Genius Watter S.r.l.  also uses your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from Genius Watter S.r.l.  and its affiliates. Genius Watter S.r.l.  may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

Genius Watter S.r.l.  does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. Genius Watter S.r.l.  may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, Genius Watter S.r.l.  may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to Genius Watter S.r.l., and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

Genius Watter S.r.l.  does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

Genius Watter S.r.l.  keeps track of the Web sites and pages our customers visit within Genius Watter S.r.l. , in order to determine what Genius Watter S.r.l.  services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within Genius Watter S.r.l.  to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

Genius Watter S.r.l.  Web sites will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Genius Watter S.r.l.  or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Genius Watter S.r.l.; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Genius Watter S.r.l., or the public.

Use of Cookies

The Genius Watter S.r.l.  Web site use “cookies” to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize Genius Watter S.r.l.  pages, or register with Genius Watter S.r.l.  site or services, a cookie helps Genius Watter S.r.l.  to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same Genius Watter S.r.l.  Web site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Genius Watter S.r.l.  features that you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Genius Watter S.r.l.  services or Web sites you visit.

Security of your Personal Information

Genius Watter S.r.l.  secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Genius Watter S.r.l.  secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other Web sites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Changes to this Statement

Genius Watter S.r.l.  will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. Genius Watter S.r.l.  encourages you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how Genius Watter S.r.l.  is protecting your information.

Contact Information

Genius Watter S.r.l.  welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that Genius Watter S.r.l.  has not adhered to this Statement, please contact Genius Watter S.r.l.  at info@geniuswatter.com We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.