RUSSIAN-FRENCH CENTER FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENCY
On June 4-5th, a business mission organized by the Skolkovo Foundation and the Russian-French Center for Energy Efficiency was held in France with the assistance of the Russian Economic Development Ministry and the Trade Mission of Russia in France.
The business mission was held with the goal of intensifying cooperation in the development of breakthrough technologies, enhancing the political support of joint projects between Russian and French companies and pinpointing prospects for investment. The mission was attended by representatives of the Skolkovo Foundation, Russian ministries and agencies (Economic Development Ministry, Energy Ministry), as well as a number of major Russian energy companies, as well as scientific and technical centers (including RusHydro, Inter RAO UES, E4 Group and others).
Notably, the business mission was the first in a series of similar events aimed at establishing cooperation in the field of energy efficiency between Russia and France. The event was devoted to the study of a wide range of possibilities for cooperation in two specific areas: Russia’s intelligent power generation system and renewable energy, both of which prompted the creation of special technological platforms in the framework of Skolkovo, as well as a special cluster for energy efficiency. The first part of the business mission, which took place in Paris, focused on a discussion of a wide range of issues regarding the theme “Sustainable Development and Energy in a City of the Future.” Representatives of the Directorate General for Energy and Climate, the General Directorate on Competition, the French Agency for International Development of Enterprises (Ubifrance), and the French Agency for International Investment (AFII) played an active role in the discussion. The issues of energy efficiency and sustainable development also took center stage at a meeting with representatives of leading French companies, including Schneider Electric, Alstom, EDF, ERDF, Sagem, BRGM and many others.
The discussion on possibilities for cooperation in the sphere of the intellectual development of energy systems and renewable energy sources, conducted in a variety of formats and featuring representatives of Russian companies and the Skolkovo Foundation on one side, and a wide array of so-called French “apexes of competitive advantage” on the other, was continued on the Paris-Saclay Campus. The Russian and French companies both concentrated on potential joint projects in the field of green energy, “smart buildings” and non-carbon transportation; financing of projects in R&D, and using the experience of Saclay's Institute of Non-Carbon Energy to create a similar Center for Applied Research in Skolkovo.
As a result of the active dialogue between the interested parties, a wide range of possible cooperation in a number of strategic areas was identified:
“The Foundation has made significant progress toward the modernization of innovative resources in Russia,” said Dmitry Politov, head of Skolkovo's international projects, at the close of the event. “Now more than ever, it is crucial to compare notes with the leading research centers in the world, and this time they were centers located right in the heart of France – Ile de France. In the course of the trip, we were able to reach preliminary agreements on cooperation with a number of “apexes of competitive advantage,” technological excellence centers and companies, including, for example, such world-renowned names as Saclay and Genopole. We are hopeful that the seeds planted within the framework of the business mission will prove fruitful for Russian-French cooperation in innovation.”
Background Information:
Skolkovo Foundation
The Skolkovo Foundation, a center for the development and commercialization of new technologies, is a non-profit organization created at the initiative of the president in 2010. The purpose of the foundation is to mobilize Russia’s resources in the field of modern applied research and create a favorable environment for the implementation of scientific research in five priority areas of technological development: energy and energy efficiency, aerospace, biomedicine, nuclear and computer technology. The project involves the establishment of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, research institutes, business incubator zones, centers for technology transfer and commercialization, representative offices of foreign companies and R&D centers, residential accommodation and social infrastructure, and the subsequent expansion of an effective regime to other innovative regions of Russia. The activities of the Skolkovo innovation center are regulated by a special law that provides its residents with a privileged economic environment.
The Skolkovo Foundation website: www.sk.ru
Russian-French Center for Energy Efficiency
The center was established on December 9, 2010. The center’s founders consist of the Russian Energy Agency, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME), and the Association of French companies for Energy Efficiency in Russia (which includes Alstom, Bureau Veritas, CMS, Dalkia, Agis Energy Group, EDF, ERDF, GDF Suez, Lafarge, Saint-Gobain, Schneider Electric, Total, VLI Vostok, etc.). The center serves as a full-time venue for the provision of assistance to Russian and French players engaged in the field of energy efficiency.
Contacts:
Press Service of the Foundation
Roman Shcherbakov
Telephone: +7 (495) 967 01 48, ext. 2260
Fax: +7 (495) 967 01 96
E-mail: rs@sk.ru
www.sk.ru