Manouras Lefteris – 27
Lefteris Manouras is a plasma engineer and co-founder of Salvinno, a deep-tech startup and spin-off of NCSR “Demokritos”, which develops advanced membranes through surface treatment using plasma technology for wastewater treatment, chemical recovery, desalination, water purification, and related applications.
A graduate of Physics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and holder of a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology from the National Technical University of Athens, he has been working since 2022 at NCSR “Demokritos” in the group of Dr. Evangelos Gogolides. The group is a pioneer in the use of cold plasma in the fields of sustainable development, through surface modification and the production of advanced materials used in cutting-edge applications such as water treatment, microelectronics, and biomedicine.
Salvinno was founded within the framework of the SuperClean research project, funded by EIC Transition, which supports the commercial exploitation of cutting-edge technologies. As the company’s COO, Lefteris coordinates the technological and operational development of an innovation aimed at reducing pollution and conserving water to address the ever-increasing risk posed by water scarcity.
In 2024, Salvinno was a finalist in the StartSmart SEE acceleration program, while he published as first author in the international journal Micro and Nano Engineering. In 2025, the company advanced to the third phase of the GAEA (Green Alternatives for European Autonomy) competition, while his team’s EcoLoop proposal won 2nd place and a €10,000 cash prize at the 1st Greek–Turkish Hackathon 2025.
Lefteris represents the new generation of sciencepreneurs, who combine science with entrepreneurship to create sustainable technologies with a positive impact on the environment and society.
Methodology:
From the more than 130 nominations collected by Forbes—either through applications submitted by the candidates themselves or through nominations by institutions and relevant bodies—the editorial team carried out an initial screening and narrowed the list down to 90.
The judging panel, which consisted of Mr. Spyros Theodoropoulos (President of SEV and Chairman & CEO of Bespoke SGA Holdings), Michalis Bletsas (Governor of the National Cybersecurity Authority and Research Scientist and Director of Computing at the MIT Media Lab), Apostolos Tamtzakis (Chairman & CEO of EOS Capital Partners), and Theocharis Philippopoulos (President of Capital.gr and Chairman of Attica Publications), evaluated the nominations using scores from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), on the basis of which the final ranking was determined.
The order of publication has been determined according to the members’ scores (from highest to lowest) and subsequently in alphabetical order. Eligibility for inclusion in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Greece 2026 list was limited to individuals born on or after January 1, 1996.
You can see the article in Forbes HERE.
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