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Rusnano pours $65m into high tech nano water treatment |
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Oleg Kouzbit, Online News Managing Editor
Russia’s state-run nanotechnology corporation, Rusnano, has recently announced a promising $65m joint project that calls for production of nanostructured membranes and separation modules to treat water. Its project partner is Vladimir-based R&D and production company Vladipor with 35 years of experience in the membrane market. Rusnano puts up $27m in cash and loans to the membrane maker and an unspecified financial investor is also reportedly expected to support the effort. If successfully implemented, the project has the potential for challenging the present dominance of imports in membrane component production.
Russia’s government nanotech corporation, Rusnano, has teamed up with Vladimir-headquartered polymer membranes producer Vladipor in a $65m effort to establish Russian-based production of nanostructured membranes and separation modules for water treatment.
As Rusnano reports, the project calls for construction of a plant to make 1-to-100nm pore size membrane plating and membranous roll-fed modules used in water filtration and reverse osmosis.
The government corporation will reportedly contribute $11.7m in cash and loan Vladipor another $15.3m. The project owner and an unidentified financial investor, a third in this consortium, are expected to fork over the rest.
Rusnano’s managing director, Evgeny Evdokimov from the corporation’s Infrastructure Development division, told Marchmont he found the new project one of the most interesting of all Rusnano has participated in so far. If things go as planned, in 2012 engineering companies that make water treatment equipment will get a new supplier of hi-tech components.
Paving a wide way into a $645m market
At the moment, there are around 150 domestic and international companies providing engineering services in the membrane equipment market, most using imported membranes. The new nanoproject is aiming to generate and commercialize a breakthrough technology that could successfully compete with imports and, in certain instances, offer equipment manufacturers a product with even higher customer value.
Membrane technologies are in demand across the industries that have a need for water treatment and drain purification. With the technologies companies can get cheaper water that is ultrapure, desalted, and microbiologically decontaminated. In the chemical and dairy industries, hi-tech membranes enable producers to cut the cost of waste water purification and help make concentrated solutions.
According to Rusnano, the food sector is the greatest user of membrane modules (20%). Pharmaceutical and medical companies account for an aggregate 24% of industrial demand for membrane modules, with the energy, mechanical engineering, microelectronics and chemical sectors following close behind with an amassed 20%.
Russia’s membrane market was worth a reported $225m less than two years ago and is now forecasted to grow by 2017 to $645m. The membrane module market for ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, specifically, is expected to expand by the same time to more than $240m, swelling by 13+% each year between now and 2017.
Capitalizing on inheritance of skill and experience
Rusnano’s partner and the project owner, Vladipor, has been in the Russian membrane market for 35 years now. It spun off in 1998 from R&D and experimental production divisions of OAO Polymersintez, a legal successor of one of the pillars of the USSR’s chemical industry that bore the same name, and has ever since been focusing on design of various polymer membranes and membrane-based separation components.
With a vast experience and skilled personnel, and the auspicious prognosis for the market development, the firm has ample room for expansion, Rusnano believes. Vladipor’s competitive advantage could be designing new highly customized types of membranes for specific users.
Keeping its eyes on the prize
Started in 2007 with a $5bn mandate to develop, Russia’s nanotechnology potential, Rusnano received $20bn worth of project investment applications—four times its charter capital—in its very first year. Its original project focus was on optics and metalworking; in 2009 the corporation took on precision machine-tool making (electrochemical lathes) and medicine (flu vaccines).
Rusnano CEO Anatoly Chubais announced last year that by 2015 Russia’s nanoproduct sales would reach $32.8bn. According to Rusnano analysts’ estimates, almost $1bn in investment in fixed assets, infrastructure and training was supposed to come from government coffers to enhance the corporation’s efforts in 2009 alone.
The current financial crisis forced the RF government, and Rusnano in particular, to cut back on hi-tech R&D spending, but the new Vladipor project shows that worthwhile projects are still getting funded.
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