Company

A pioneering company in the development and manufacturing of high‑performance battery systems and automotive solutions for motorsport and niche markets.

About us
About

Podium Advanced Technologies was established in 2011 by a team of three highly skilled engineers who hold Ph.D. degrees in the fields of mechatronics and automotive engineering, boasting a successful track record in the Formula SAE championships. Their collective expertise and extensive experience in these areas laid the foundation for the company's inception.

A significant milestone for the company occurred in 2012 when it demonstrated remarkable technical maturity by developing an innovative Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for an original application in a racing prototype in the Nürburgring endurance championship. This project's success played a defining role in shaping the company's future and marked the beginning of an impressive growth journey in the field of electrification and motorsport.

 

Press

As the company tackled increasingly complex projects, it expanded its scope beyond design and development to encompass prototype construction and small-scale production of vehicles and battery systems. This progression garnered international attention, with Podium Advanced Technologies being consistently featured by the Financial Times over the last six years as one of the top 1,000 companies in Europe with the highest revenue growth.

This sustained growth has been supported by a parallel increase in the number of employees, which has more than quintupled over the last years, contributing to greater diversity and a higher level of internal expertise. An unwavering commitment to human resource development is a distinguishing characteristic of the company's culture, evident through meticulous recruitment and selection processes, as well as a relentless focus on continuous training and professional development.

 

Podium Headquarter

In addition to the company's emphasis on human resource development, another notable hallmark is its steady commitment to continuous research and development. Since its inception, the company shareholders have consistently directed a substantial flow of investments towards R&D activities, reinvesting all profits to foster the development of the company’s intellectual capital and assets.

This strategic approach has enabled the company to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, drive innovation, and maintain a competitive edge in the industry. By continuously pushing the boundaries of knowledge and leveraging cutting-edge technologies, Podium Advanced Technologies’ mission is to deliver state-of-the-art solutions and remain a leader in the field.

Why our customers work with us
racing
Delivery

Our project management discipline stems from our motorsport culture. It takes a superior combination of focus, speed and technical skills to be successful in a racing environment, and we have extended the same attitude to all our practices. The net result is that we simply deliver on time and on budget. Effective teamwork is also of the essence in complex projects: we have successfully run co-located platform teams with our clients’ personnel, fast tracking the entire process to schedule.

Lancia 01
Value

Podium Advanced Technologies lean structure allows us to provide our clients with a swift and agile response. Our operations are entirely self-financed, and there is no third-party capital to be remunerated. No unnecessary burden weighs down our projects master plans, positioning us as one of the most efficient companies in the industry in providing real value to our customers. In addition, more senior resources in our team are able to advise and help shape up the sustainability of business cases underlying any given project.

le Mans podium
Track record

We have a proven track record of success in a variety of fields, ranging from motorsport to hypercar design and engineering.

Since 2012 we have been present in world class competitions with substantial results such as a third place overall at 24h of Le Mans in 2022.

Francesca
Competences

Our success is the result of different factors. Yet our young, competent and motivated team is one of our greatest strengths. Only graduate people with outstanding academic results and profiles, many of them with a research doctorate, compose our staff. Professional growth is pursued through regular training programs and rotation of personnel on different assignments, including motorsport hands-on experience.

Electric and electronic system
Hi-tech know-how

Podium Advanced Technologies can rely upon a wealth of proprietary intellectual capital, as well as on an unrivalled mastery of any leading edge or emerging technology in our fields of application. In 2013 we have developed our own Battery Management System, that has been customized to very diverse high capacity/high power applications to date. In 2016 we have developed and engineered our Torque Vectoring System for a fully electric supercar.

Techrules REN
Hi-end products experience

When it comes to building one-off prototypes, technical know-how is not enough. Understanding the client vision and appreciating the difference even the smallest details can make is an absolute must. Individual fulfillment is as important as extreme performance, as well as customer’s confidentiality requirements about all relevant aspects of the project. We have worked with different clients helping them make thier dream come true, be it a winning racing prototype, a “restomod” project on one of the most iconic classic cars of the last century, or a record breaking high performance special vehicle.

Management team
Francesco Monti
CEO - Head of Battery Systems

Francesco has been the CEO since 2019. He leads all electric projects as well as all related R&D programs. Before joining the company as a partner in 2012, he has been part of the Hybrid Powertrain R&D group of McLaren Automotive UK. Francesco holds a MSc degree in Automotive Engineering and a PhD in Mechatronics from Politecnico di Torino.

Luca Ciancetti
Co-founder - Head of Automotive and Motorsport

Luca oversees all the Automotive and Motorsport projects. He holds a MSc degree in Automotive Engineering and a PhD in Mechatronics from the Politecnico di Torino. He has an extensive experience in both racing and road vehicles design and development, as well as in managing race teams as Team Principle in several prominent international series.

Massimiliano Turco
Chairman of the Board - Electrical Engineering and Systems & Software Design Manager

Massimiliano joined the company in 2011 and became a partner in 2016. He holds a MSc degree and a PhD in Mechatronics Engineering from Politecnico di Torino. With an extensive experience on vehicle electronics and ECU programming, Massimiliano has played a key role in the development of Podium Advanced Technologies own Battery Management System.

Igor Zanetti
Co-founder - Controls Principal Engineer & IT Manager

Igor holds a MSc degree in Automotive Engineering from Politecnico di Torino. Before founding the company, he has worked in the engine controls development team of General Motors, in Europe and in USA. He has a wide knowledge and experience in both controls design and development, as well as on-track engine calibration and testing.

Jonathan Brivio
Battery Design Manager

Jonathan joined the company in 2014 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and a MSc in Automotive Engineering from Politecnico di Torino. Jonathan has led several cutting-edge battery systems development projects for automotive and racing applications. Presently, he leads the battery design and development team.
 

Giuliano Ellena
Battery Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Before joining the company in 2021, Giuliano gained automotive and battery manufacturing experience in UK working for COMAU and Jaguar Land Rover, within Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering. Giuliano holds a MSc degree in Automotive Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and an MBA diploma from Università di Torino. 
 

Alessandro Furfaro
General Manager

Alessandro joined the company in 2017, after a broad experience in the automotive and other business sectors. He has served as managing director, general manager and other senior roles in companies such as Ferrari, Azimut-Benetti, CNH. Alessandro holds a MSc degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and an MBA diploma from INSEAD.

Ugo Gillone
Technical Director

Ugo joined the company in 2020, with a vast experience in Automotive product development attained in important Engineering service companies (Pininfarina, Italdesign Giugiaro, Tesco and others), about one-offs, small series and mass production vehicles for premium European OEMs. 
Ugo holds a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino.

Silvia Petrini
Human Resources Manager

With an MSc degree in Work and Organizational Psychology from the University of Turin and several postgraduate degrees in HR Management and Coaching, Silvia joined the company in 2021. She has held various HR roles in medium and large organizations across different industries. She has also worked as a professional sport coach in world-class competitions.

Egle Pinet
Accounting Manager

Egle joined Podium Advanced Technologies in 2020, bringing with her more than 20 years of expertise in accounting, administration, logistics and import/export operations. Her extensive professional journey encompasses prominent roles within renowned industrial giants like Norsk Hydro, Meridian Lightweight Technologies, and Teksid Aluminum.

Marco Rossini
Head of Project Management Office

Marco joined the company in 2020 with a BSc degree in Automotive Engineering. Coordinating the project managers team, he supervises the progress of ongoing projects across the three business lines. Prior to taking up this role, he managed the FIA WEC Hypercar program for Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus first as project planner then as project and team manager.
 

Ugo Salvadori
Workshop Manager

Ugo joined Podium Advanced Technologies in 2020. During his over 35 years of extensive experience managing prototype and car assembly operations at Pininfarina, Ugo has been responsible for vehicle construction contracts for major OEMs, coordinating all production activities from prototyping to final production for both conventional and electric vehicles. 

Investment in R&D

Podium Advanced Technologies is a company that boasts steady growth over the years and a long track record of success. This success is the result of Podium Advanced Technologies' ability to constantly innovate, an aptitude supported by significant investments. In fact, since its foundation, all the company's profits have always been reinvested internally. Thanks also to this self-financining capacity, over the last 10 years Podium Advanced Technologies has collocated on average 10/15 % of its profits to research and development. 

In the last year, R&D investments have been even more substantial with the aim of developing know-how and innovative technologies in the field of battery pack design and assembly processes. The results of this research activity will enable the company to set up a most effective low volume series production capacity. 

 

 

Public Funding

In compliance with the provisions of Law 124/2017 regarding disclosure and transparency obligations, the following is an outline of the contributions pertaining to fiscal year 2022 from which the Company has benefited.