Latest news with #FutureTechnologiesForum
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia Planning to Build More Nuclear Reactors in Iran
Russian state-run nuclear energy giant Rosatom is in talks to build another nuclear power plant in Iran. The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) on Feb. 23 said Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev discussed the plan at the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow, Russia. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Moscow in January to talk about a partnership deal between the two countries related to energy. Iran wants to increase its power generation capacity because of ongoing blackouts across the country due to a lack of available electricity. 'We are conducting another [round of] large-scale negotiations on the next site for developing nuclear energy in Iran,' Likhachev said at the forum in Moscow. The Rosatom chief executive said a site for a nuclear power station has been chosen, but did not reveal the location, saying only that 'the start of work is still a long way off. 'We see Iran's government taking an active stance in advancing nuclear energy. On our end, we are accelerating our efforts and are engaged in large-scale negotiations regarding the next site for nuclear energy development in Iran,' Likhachev said. Iran has one operating nuclear reactor, a 1,000-MW Russian-designed VVER unit at the southern port city of Bushehr, on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Two more VVER-1000 units are under construction at the site. Work on Unit 2 began in 2019, with commercial operation now expected in 2029 after earlier reports said the unit could come online last year. Iranian media reported that installation of safety equipment in Unit 2 began earlier in February, along with excavation works for the water cooling pump houses of both units. [caption id="attachment_180543" align="alignnone" width="640"] The Bushehr nuclear power station, a 1,000-MW facility, came online in 2013. It is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant. Source: Bushehr NPP[/caption] Construction of Unit 3 began last year. The expansion project would increase Bushehr's generation capacity to about 3,000 MW. Likhachev said Rosatom was 'very actively' working with Iran on the Bushehr expansion. Iran also is building a smaller, 300-MW nuclear plant in the Khuzestan province, near the country's western border with Iraq. That plant is scheduled to come online by 2030. Russia and Iran have been working to strengthen their bilateral cooperation around energy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the two countries' agreements are part of a 'comprehensive strategic partnership. It sets ambitious goals and outlines guidelines for deepening bilateral cooperation in the long term.' —Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
Saba Yemen
22-02-2025
- Science
- Saba Yemen
Putin: Oreshnik missile warheads reach temperatures similar to those on sun
Moscow - Saba: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the warheads of the Oreshnik missile system can withstand temperatures equal to the surface temperature of the sun. Russia Today website quoted Putin as saying during his speech at the general session of the Future Technologies Forum: "The whole world is talking about Oreshnik, and what materials are used in its manufacture, the temperatures it can withstand are equal to the surface temperature of the sun." Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Putin orders ministers to prepare for Western companies' return to Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his Cabinet of Ministers on Feb. 21 to prepare for the return of Western companies, saying Russian firms should have "certain advantages" over those re-entering the market. "We can adjust accordingly the return to our market of those who want to return," Putin said during a speech at the Future Technologies Forum plenary session, suggesting potential restrictions or conditions for Western firms looking to resume operations in Russia. "External problems, sanctions, with all the challenges and difficulties for us, have played an important stimulating role," he added. The comments come amid a rapprochement between Russia and the U.S. A Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met on Feb. 18 with a U.S. delegation led by State Secretary Marco Rubio, marking the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. and Russia agreed to start the process on Ukrainian settlement, appoint ambassadors to each other, lift "obstacles to diplomatic missions" and create conditions for starting U.S.-Russian cooperation, according to Lavrov. Russia is also offering the Trump administration a deal on Russian natural resources and access to the Arctic, The Moscow Times reported on Feb. 18, citing Kirill Dmitriev, one of the Russian delegates in recent Saudi Arabia talks. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Western companies exited the Russian market, unwilling to contribute to the country's economy or war effort. According to the Kyiv School of Economics Institute, 472 foreign firms have fully withdrawn, while another 1,360 have scaled back their operations. The Kremlin imposed strict exit requirements, including approval from a government commission, a mandatory 50% discount on asset sales, and an "exit tax" of at least 10%. Russian authorities have also seized assets from subsidiaries of Western companies that remained operational. Moscow's measures have been widely seen as retaliation for Western sanctions, including the freezing of around $300 billion in Russian central bank assets. Despite these efforts, many foreign companies have either found ways to continue business in Russia or have re-entered the market after a temporary pause. Read also: Russia may offer frozen assets for Ukraine's reconstruction, demand funds for occupied territories, Reuters reports We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Russia Today
21-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Sanctions unlocked Russia's economic potential
Western sanctions have inadvertently bolstered Russia's economic and technological sectors, President Vladimir Putin said at the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow on Friday. He added that the potential return of Western companies to the country must be carefully regulated to protect domestic companies. The administration of US President Donald Trump has signaled in recent days that Western sanctions may be eased if a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev is reached. This has raised the possibility of a return of companies that left Russia due to the sanctions. 'Sanctions, despite all their challenges and difficulties, have played an important, stimulating role,' Putin stated. He added that the restrictions prompted closer collaboration between domestic businesses and science. 'Russian companies are now increasingly turning to [domestic] scientists and getting solutions they need. And domestic solutions often turn out to be more effective than foreign alternatives.' First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said on Thursday that only companies that are of interest to Russia will be allowed back. While the EU and US were working on sanctions packages, Russia reworked its public procurement system and business support measures and adjusted to the changes, he added. Domestic manufacturers and companies from the Eurasian Economic Union, comprising Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, now have 'absolute priority' for Russia's technological sovereignty, Manturov went on to say. At the Future Technologies Forum, Putin instructed the government to develop a framework for regulating interactions between Russian enterprises and their foreign competitors, aiming to provide advantages for domestic manufacturers. He stressed that the process should be carried out carefully, as it remains essential to ensure favorable conditions for domestic producers. The Russian president stated that 'in the field of industrial production, we must think everything through... so as not to lose the potential that has been created by our adversaries who imposed sanctions against us.' Putin has made similar remarks before, suggesting that the restrictions have propelled Russia toward greater economic and financial sovereignty, describing them as a 'blessing in disguise.'
Russia Today
20-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Russian innovation to revolutionize oil industry
A team of Russian and foreign experts and scientists at Kazan Federal University have developed and started to successfully apply the revolutionary concept of refining oil underground. The idea was presented at the Future Technologies Forum in Moscow on Thursday. Specialists from Mexico, Yemen, China, and Chad are part of a laboratory that developed the idea of combining two processes – oil extraction and refining, according to Mikhail Varfolomeyev, the head of the Department for Developing and Operating Hard-to-Recover Hydrocarbon Deposits at the university. 'Essentially, we created a new industry. We learned how to partially process oil underground and significantly increased oil recovery,' Varfolomeyev said at a session on chemistry. The research into underground refining is particularly important for the Republic of Tatarstan, where Kazan University is located, as half of the region's oil reserves consist of heavy crude, a highly viscous substance that cannot easily flow from production wells, Varfolomeyev noted. Tatneft, a major oil and gas company headquartered in the republic, has helped put the concept into practice. 'Experiments in wells exceeded expectations several times over. We anticipated a 40-50% increase in oil production, but it reached 200%. This goes beyond import substitution, rather becoming a case of innovative import substitution, or leapfrogging industrial development,' Varfolomeyev said. Import substitution is a term that refers to replacing foreign imports with domestically produced goods or equipment, something that Russia has made strides in since 2022, when Western-imposed sanctions severely limited the country's foreign trade. Russia is going through 'hard times,' as it cannot freely buy technology and goods it needs, according to another participant at the forum, Presidential Aide for Science and Education Andrey Fursenko, who added that the country has the resources to overcome the issue. The Russian Science Foundation, a state-funded organization that supports scientific research and innovation, has contributed to the funding of the research. Russia's largest integrated petrochemical company, Sibur, and Gazprom Neft, the oil subsidiary of energy giant Gazprom, have also come on board, Varfolomeyev said. Russia is one of the world's top three crude producers, vying for the top spot with Saudi Arabia and the US, according to the International Energy Agency. In January, the US imposed new sanctions against Russia's oil production and exports, aiming, among other things, to limit the provision of technical know-how and equipment to the country's oil industry. The Future Technologies Forum is taking place in the Russian capital February 20-21.
