August 12, 2020
Severstal has become one of the partners of the GreenTech Startup Booster,
an accelerator for environmental startups. The project was coordinated by the
SKOLKOVO Foundation, with the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Ecology of the Russian Federation and a number of Russian and international
corporations.
The GreenTech Startup Booster is aimed at finding and implementing
innovative solutions within the areas of ecology, industrial safety and
sustainable development. The program is intended for companies with solutions
that are ready to develop at any stage of the production cycle, from prototype
to industrial production phase. The accelerator is looking for solutions to
help solve the current challenges and achieve the long-term targets of Russian
industry, including: minimising its carbon footprint, reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, and improving the efficiency of water and air treatment facilities,
and waste disposal.
Valery Minchev, Director of Labour Protection, Industrial Safety and
Ecology at Severstal, commented:
“At Severstal, we pay close attention to environmental projects in all
regions where we operate, and the monitor the volume of emissions at all stages
of the production cycle – from extracting raw material to producing finished
products. In 2019, Severstal’s investments in environmental projects totalled
roughly RUB 750 million, but in the first half of 2020, the Company has already
invested RUB 1.34 billion in environmental protection initiatives. Our
participation in the GreenTech Startup Booster reflects our focus on developing
and implementing new technologies to reduce our industrial environmental
impact. I am confident that the startup teams will be able to offer us
cutting-edge technologies that will help us to achieve our ambitious
environmental protection goals.”
500 technology startups will take part in the program, with the top 30
reaching the final. Finalists will be offered an acceleration program to
support pilot testing and implementation of their solutions, or the option to
develop their pilot projects at the sites of the accelerator’s industrial
partners. The winners of the GreenTech Startup Booster will achieve the status
of a successful SKOLKOVO participant, in addition to receiving a RUB 5 million
grant towards the implementation of their pilot project.
Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of the SKOLKOVO Foundation,
commented:
“The launch of the environmental accelerator is an important step for
SKOLKOVO and our contribution to the work of the “Ecology” National Project.
The search for modern high-tech solutions in an area of such social
significance and relevance is not an easy task, and implementing these
innovations would be impossible without the support of scientific institutions
and industrial partners, including leading Russian universities, as well as
major domestic and international corporations. I am confident that together we
will be able to implement the most ambitious plans in the field of
ecology.”
Russian companies SIBUR, NLMK, Tatneft, Gazpromneft, Helyx, and T-Plus, as
well as international energy leaders well-versed in shaping the environmental
agenda – ENEL, EDF, and TOTAL, also confirmed their participation in the
program. The accelerator’s scientific partners include MISIS, Gubkin Russian
State University of Oil and Gas and several other Russian universities.
