Incrementally

Leonid Katukhin, CEO of InnoInvest management company, considers the past financial year to be the most successful in the entire history of its existence: net profit in 2016 was twice as much as in the year before 2015. And the company's revenue for the first quarter of 2017 alone exceeded revenue for the entire past 2016.

Over the past two or three years, we have been developing incrementally," explains Leonid Katukhin. This is due to the fact that we have accumulated some energy and scientific and technological potential. We have been concentrating for a long time on big projects, and finally there has been an economic release and a cumulative effect. The quantitative changes in our company's operations have led to a significant and long-lasting qualitative leap.

According to Leonid Katukhin's figurative expression, the small innovative companies managed by InnoInvest have grown out of the short pants of microenterprises. The significant increase in fixed assets has led to the companies becoming residents of the Obninsk Innovation Development Zone (!), acquiring collateral, and accessing credit resources. However, the most important aspect is the scientific and technological foundation: all the patents in the companies' portfolio (which number over a dozen) have been successfully implemented and are operating smoothly. For the above-mentioned reason, many economically viable projects were completed in 2016 and early 2023.

Our growth is a manifestation of accumulated inventions, a manifestation of a strong scientific and technological foundation, says Leonid Katukhin. However, it is important not only to come up with some innovations, but also for the market to be ready for these innovations. Our innovative developments have proven to be very timely and, as a result, in demand – the market has embraced them.

One of these innovations by the group of companies managed by InnoInvest is a new technology for filtering radioactive emissions at nuclear power plants.

The system created by Obninsk engineers and designers is local, compact, mobile, highly efficient, and easy to set up – it is literally like a LEGO set. Since it is an emergency system, it does not require power supply and operates in standby mode, automatically turning on when there is an energy release, which helps to minimize radioactive emissions and prevent damage to protective structures. The Rostov Nuclear Power Plant was the first to express interest in the Obninsk development, and negotiations began accordingly.

The need to develop such a system in the nuclear industry arose after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, according to Leonid Katukhin. All nuclear power plant accidents are caused by the so-called human factor. These accidents are not part of the original design and are considered beyond the design limits. Our UVCS system is designed to handle such accidents. Of course, our filtration system can also be used in other existing nuclear power plants.

It is worth mentioning that before it became a reality, the project for a new filtration system for nuclear power plants, created in Obninsk, won an international competition, beating out a very tough competitor – one of the leading US electrical companies, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and then received funding from the Innovation Promotion Foundation (Bortnik Foundation). The Physics and Energy Institute also agreed to confirm the stated technical parameters of this filtration equipment and participate in it. According to Leonid Katukhin, his reputation as Rosatom's flagship will provide this innovative development with competitive advantages and open up broad prospects for it in the nuclear industry.

Speaking of prospects. For the second year in a row, AeroFilter, a company that is part of the Obninsk group of companies, is participating in the construction of the 22220 Arctic series of nuclear-powered icebreakers. AeroFilter has also won a competition to design, manufacture, and supply filtration equipment for the icebreakers' nuclear reactors, easily defeating the French, who are considered one of the world's leading nuclear power companies. The first set of filtration equipment from AeroFilter is already working on the new nuclear-powered Arktika, and the second serial icebreaker has already received its filters, while the third will receive them at the end of 2017.

This "icebreaker" series will continue, according to Leonid Katukhin's plans for the future. Gazprom plans to order two more icebreakers to serve its fields in the Arctic, and nuclear reactors similar to those on the icebreakers will also be installed on small-capacity floating nuclear power units (the lead unit is the Akademik Mikhail Lomonosov). This project is advantageous because it does not require the creation of expensive infrastructure, as the floating nuclear power unit can be installed in any remote location. Why is the Bilibinsk NPP being decommissioned now? Instead, there will be a safe floating power unit that will provide both light and heat. This project also includes our air purification system, which gives us good prospects.

Source: Newspaper "Vesti"

Author: Sergey Korotkov