Electronics giant Panasonic became a partner of the Skolkovo Foundation on Friday, signing a deal with Skolkovo president Victor Vekselberg that obliges the Japanese multinational to build research facilities at the Russian innovation center.
The agreement, signed in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, commits Panasonic to deploying at least 30 workers from its Russian representative office at the R&D center by 2017, an operation that will cost the company around 160 million rubles.
“By signing an agreement to open its R&D Center at Skolkovo, Panasonic, as one of the key players in the global electronics market, has joined the group of key partners of the Foundation that features more than 20 large international corporations,” said Vekselberg in a press release.
Shigeo Suzuki, general director of Panasonic Russia, noted: “Panasonic has become a partner of the Skolkovo Innovation Center as a part of our global strategy aimed at localizing Panasonic’s technologies and products.”
Medvedev, center, shaking hands with Vekselberg as Suzuki looks on. Photo: sk.ru
“Russia was and remains a very important region for us. Cooperation with the most active and talented Russian scientists will allow us to adapt energy efficiency solutions of Panasonic to the special aspects of the Russian market,” said Suzuki.
“I am sure that our presence at Skolkovo will create many cooperation possibilities with the most promising Russian startups, and will allow us to react in a timely manner to the demands of a fast-changing technology market,” he added.
It is the first Japanese company to sign up as a Skolkovo partner.
“This is a very important event for us,” said Vekselberg. “It proves that Skolkovo, which was designed as international project from the start, is advancing as it should.”
The signing ceremony was held at the Skolkovo Hypercube on the sidelines of a meeting of the Russian government’s modernization commission, chaired by Medvedev.
In September, Skolkovo resident EnSol announced it had entered a cooperation agreement with Panasonic to produce a new type of energy-saving battery for forklift trucks. EnSol manufactures lithium-ion batteries like those present in smartphones, a technology that, when adapted for warehouse vehicles, would allow the trucks to power up in 90 minutes rather than overnight.
Skolkovo’s two-dozen world-leading partners also include Boeing, Cisco Systems, EADS, GE, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Siemens, Nokia and Samsung. Panasonic is Skolkovo’s 45th partner overall.
Partner status allows firms to open up research facilities at Skolkovo and grants access to the Skolkovo ecosystem, giving the company first refusal on innovations produced by Skolkovo’s 1,000-plus resident startups and also better access to the Russian market.
The Panasonic deal further bolsters Skolkovo’s ties with the East.
October’s Open Innovations Forum in Moscow saw a raft of agreements connecting Russian and Chinese firms and culminated in a landmark accord that sees Russia and China build research and development facilities in each other’s countries.
Last week Skolkovo signed an agreement with India to ramp up cooperation in the high-tech sector, one of several deals overseen by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a trip to New Delhi.
Charged with providing the catalyst for the diversification of the Russian economy, the Skolkovo Foundation’s overarching goal is to create a sustainable ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation, engendering a startup culture and encouraging venture capitalism.
Last month, Skolkovo’s flagship partners including Microsoft and Siemens reiterated their commitment to the project, insisting political turbulence would not blow them off course.
Friday also saw two other companies become Skolkovo partners: O3 Group, an engineering concern, and energy firm Packer Tools.