In Irkutsk region, an agreement with Rosnano is being prepared to set nanotechnology development priorities and open the way for joint projects with small and medium businesses. It may form the basis for a nanotechnology cluster around the Baikal Center and the Nitol solar project in Usolye Sibirskoye, supported by Rosnano with 7.5 billion rubles. Anatoly Chubais may visit on April 3 or 4 to sign the agreement and see the regions research and production base.

Anatoly Chubais, head of the state corporation Russian Nanotechnologies, may visit the Irkutsk Region in the near future. Work is currently underway to prepare an agreement between the regional government and Rusnano.
On Monday, a working meeting on preparing the agreement between the government and Rusnano was held in the “Gray House.” The head of the Innovation and Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Economic Development, Labor, Science and Higher Education of the Irkutsk Region, Vasily Shcherbak, explained that the work on the draft should be completed by the end of March. This was also confirmed by Viktor Ragozin, Director for Regulatory and Legal Activities of the state corporation.
The agreement serves as a basis for the joint development of priority areas of the region’s scientific and technological development in the field of nanotechnologies. The parties will have to determine the needs of regional enterprises for nanotechnology products and draw up a forecast for the development of the industry. The “Gray House” and Rusnano are granted the right to conclude separate contracts with small and medium-sized enterprises.
The head of the Strategic Development and Innovation Policy Department of the Irkutsk city administration, Yevgeny Semyonov, believes that “we are talking about attracting real money to the city and the region; the amounts are estimated in billions of rubles. It is important to work in a coordinated and fast manner. Rusnano does not require any direct financial participation from the regional administration. What is fundamentally important is the region’s interest and actions aimed at attracting Rusnano funds for the development of the city and the region. We need to unite the efforts of science, big business, and the authorities. Let Rusnano finally see professionalism and a willingness to work.”
For now, the text of the agreement retains a line about the Baikal Center for Nanotechnologies (BCNT) based at Irkutsk State Technical University (IrGTU). But it may be removed, since such wording could conflict with antimonopoly legislation requirements. Problems with the antimonopoly authorities can be avoided if BCNT has the status of a regional project. The center will perform the functions of a regional base for the exchange of information on scientific and technological achievements in the field of nanotechnologies. However, as explained in Rosnanotechnologies, this is possible only after BCNT wins a public tender.
On April 3-4, the head of the state corporation Rosnanotechnologies, Anatoly Chubais, may visit the Irkutsk Region. According to preliminary data, the visit is expected to include the official signing of the agreement, a “cultural program” — a visit to the Irkutsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, universities, as well as an introduction to the production base of Nitol Solar in Usolye-Sibirskoye. And this is one of the largest projects supported by Rusnano.
Recall that Nitol Solar, with its project for the production of polycrystalline silicon in Usolye-Sibirskoye, received the “green light” for 7.5 billion rubles from the Rusnano budget. It seems that this time the Irkutsk Region is in luck: Nitol Solar’s production is “tied” to BCNT (the university and the company have signed an agreement). The agreement has a high chance of being signed, since it fits into the “trend” of the tasks Chubais set for Rusnano for 2009 — the creation of clusters capable of producing not raw materials, but finished products. As Yevgeny Semyonov explained, BCNT is a purely infrastructure project, but in conjunction with Nitol Solar there is a real chance to organize a nanotechnology cluster for processing polysilicon raw materials directly in the region. And that means high-tech production will appear in the region and the city. The other day Alfa-Bank announced that it is ready to provide Nitol Solar with a loan to organize production.