Igor Manzhurov: "Our Projects Help Production in Import Substitution"

10:24, April 25, 2022

UIREC Director of Development spoke about the main areas of work

The World-class Ural Interregional Research and Education Center (UIREC) successfully cooperates with industry, its scientific research and developments find practical application in the products of enterprises. In the situation when the issue of substitution of imported components and new technologies has become acute, the Ural science is working out its own directions and technologies that allow reconfiguring and improving the technological processes of the Russian production. Igor Manzhurov, the UIREC's Director of Development, told about it today at a press conference at Interfax.

"When our industrial partners say they need components or report a lack of supplies, we see that the main projects of our RECs do not lose their relevance, on the contrary, they begin to develop more actively. The REC is a practical component of science, which is implemented in the technological projects of enterprises and participates in their development and promotion. The center now has ten major world-class projects, as well as a number of federal and regional technological projects that are particularly relevant at the moment," explains Igor Manzhurov.

For example, UIREC is implementing developments in the field of digital energy, where the main research is conducted by specialists from the Ural Federal University. They create smart transformer substations and implement vector measurements that allow a new approach to energy accounting and redistribution. In the nuclear power sector, Rosatom State Corporation has doubled its funding for the developments of scientists from the Ural Federal University and the Institute of High-Temperature Electrochemistry of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences for 2022. These projects include such projects as liquid-salt reactors, new pyrochemical technologies for spent nuclear fuel, hydrogen power, and magnets. The specialists received additional financing in the amount of 1 billion rubles from the company. In addition to that, the REC's participants are now working on projects on implementation of digital twins, new technologies of casting blanks in metallurgy etc. Manzhurov notes that all the directions are very science-intensive and correspond to the strategies of the region and the country development.

No less important is medicine, which is also dealt with at the research and education center. In cooperation with the Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant, scientists created a defibrillator, completely replacing Korean components, algorithms, and software. Also, the Ural region now has the ability to produce bioequivalent materials for prosthetics, which were previously supplied from abroad.

"Examples of import substitution, not only in industry, but also in the sphere related to our health, are very important. Nutrition, healthcare, and industry are the foundations that allow us to remain self-sufficient and confident in any situation. I hope that in this situation, the work of the UIREC will be extremely useful. The interaction of our scientists with the industry within the framework of the main projects allows Russian production to get out of those situations when it is not easy for enterprises to turn their production towards import independence," adds Igor Manzhurov.

The news article was translated by UrFU International Marketing Office
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