Energo: Russia prepares $25bn initiative to substitute equipment and tech in the energy sector

Russia’s flagship national initiative to achieve “technological sovereignty” in the energy sector, overcoming dependence on Western technology, is set to cost RUB2.14 trillion ($25bn) between now and the end of the decade, according to a government presentation seen by the Moscow-based Vedomosti newspaper.

Just over a third of this sum, some RUB730bn, will be covered with budget funds and the rest from alternative sources, Vedomosti reported on July 28. The initiative, known as New Nuclear and Energy Technologies, was presented at a government session by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on July 2. It will comprise 10 federal projects that will “contribute to our country’s entry into the top ten in terms of the volume of scientific research and experimental design work, as well as an increase in the share of domestic spending on these purposes to at least 2% of GBP,” the prime minister said.

These projects could include a number aimed at developing nuclear energy technologies, according to the president, but the scope of the initiative also covers other areas of the energy sector, including the development of new equipment and technologies for the oil and gas industry, LNG, general electricity, solar and wind generation, as well as energy storage systems.