On February 19, the Federation Council held parliamentary hearings on VEB.RF, a state development corporation that coordinates development institutions and promotes technological leadership. Led by Andrey Kutepov, the chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, representatives from the government, research organizations, and other experts discussed VEB.RF’s activities, its connections with Russian regions, and the support it provides for high-tech projects. Skoltech, as part of the Skolkovo project, was identified as VEB.RF’s primary holder of scientific and technological expertise.
VEB.RF Chairman Igor Shuvalov opened the hearings by outlining the group’s key areas of focus and its contributions to ensuring Russia’s technological leadership and sovereignty. He emphasized that, with the support of Aide to the President of Russia Andrei Fursenko, VEB.RF has learned to swiftly advance technological initiatives in collaboration with the Agency for Technological Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Dmitry Livanov, the president of MIPT and a member of the Skoltech Board of Trustees, emphasized the importance of collaboration between development institutions and prominent Russian research centers, such as Skoltech and MIPT. Livanov suggested that development institutions focus on creating specialized business structures and instruments to help entrepreneurs invest in Russian technologies. This could increase extra-budgetary funding for science, similar to the practices of other countries.
“In my opinion, establishing result-oriented entrepreneurial structures is the key to achieving technological leadership. We need modern technology centers based at top technology universities, such as MIPT and Skoltech, as well as foundations to fund university-based technology companies. Partnerships with VEB.RF and other development institutions are essential to us for this reason,” Livanov noted.
Igor Shuvalov identified Skoltech as the core institution within the Skolkovo project whose expertise will be leveraged in the group’s future business plans for developing and implementing new technologies. He also emphasized the need for a partnership between Skoltech and MIPT: “We see opportunities for partnerships in Skolkovo projects in general and between Skoltech and MIPT in particular. Now that the MIT-Skoltech partnership model is no longer relevant, we should benefit from the combined capabilities of Skoltech and MIPT to achieve technological leadership. This partnership is very important to us, and we will support it in every way.”
VEB.RF Deputy Chairman Igor Drozdov presented Skoltech’s scientific and technological expertise, highlighting several key achievements: the first Russian 5G base stations, which are currently being delivered to regions across Russia; the AI Center’s Chione solution for forecasting ice conditions along the Northern Sea Route; sodium-ion batteries; and the research conducted by a team led by Assistant Professor Artem Isaev, who heads the Biomed Technologies Center’s Laboratory for Metagenome Analysis. In 2025, Isaev received the Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists.
“Skoltech is currently involved in a sodium battery project. Igor Shuvalov and I recently visited the Krasnoyarsk region, where we met with the governor and observed significant interest in the project, which is supported by the Russian Science Foundation. In the coming years, we expect to have a fully functional battery that will outperform conventional lithium batteries. This is especially important for northern regions. These batteries could power electric vehicles and serve as backup power sources for data centers. An agreement has already been reached to set up production of sodium batteries at a Rosatom facility in the Krasnoyarsk region,” Drozdov said.
As he closed the meeting, Igor Shuvalov emphasized that Skoltech and MIPT have a unique ability to translate knowledge into marketable products. He added that collaborating closely with VEB.RF will help bridge the gap between scientific research and the real economy.
