Skolkovo Grad Hopes to Make Primorye Region a Recycling Hub

Vladimir Yermolayev, a 32-year-old Vladivostok native and one of the first group of students to graduate from the Skolkovo Startup Academy last June, announced a 7 billion ruble ($232 million) plan to turn the Primorye region into the country's most efficient recycler. Governor Vladimir Miklushevsky has backed the 17-year plan, which involves construction of technology parks for recycling centers to handle local domestic and industrial waste, creation of a legislative framework to make the business profitable and promotion of a green mentality among the public.  Yermolayev said he was inspired with the idea by a visit to San Francisco, where the municipal government recycles up to 80 percent of the city's waste using "zero waste" technology.  Yermolayev is currently looking for funding for the project, and credits the Skolkovo innovation hub for helping him start the project.  "They've been a great help," he said. "For example, [they put] us in contact with the governor. It's one of the drivers that has made this possible."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/skolkovo-graduate-plans-recycling-revolution-in-primorye/474519.html

Skolkovo Partners with Russian Energy Companies

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology signed an agreement with four energy  companies Wednesday, a move that could help speed up the modernization of Russia's power network and boost electricity exports to China.  The exact form of the agreement is undetermined, but it will likely involve an exchange of expertise and financial support for Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, or Skoltech.  New technology is particularly important for Russia's aging power distribution system, said Edward Crawley, the president of Skoltech and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The introduction of sophisticated technologies, such as smart-grid systems that respond with more flexibility to the needs of consumers, could also help Russia ramp up its electricity exports to China, said Artyom Volynets, chief executive of billionaire Oleg Deripaska's En+ Group. "Thanks to the technology that we will develop with Skolkovo Tech," said Volynets, "we believe that in several years time you will be able to wake up in Beijing, turn on the kettle and drink wonderful Chinese tea made using electricity from [Russian] hydroelectric stations."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/skolkovo-technology-university-partners-with-energy-firms/473012.html

Gazprom Commits to Costly South Stream Pipeline Project

Gazprom and its partners in the South Stream gas pipeline that runs under the Black Sea to Europe have formally confirmed the launch of the 16 billion euro project, with a final deal with a Slovenian partner finalized on Tuesday. The direct supply of natural gas to Europe is expected to start in the first quarter of 2016, with up to 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas delivered to European consumers by 2018. The cost of South Stream, including the pipeline’s overland sections could reach as high as 24 billion euro billion taking into account the onshore sections, experts estimate. The South Stream pipeline was designed to diversify Russian gas routes to Europe and to compete with the rival EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project.

http://rt.com/business/news/gazprom-south-stream-commitment-675/

Russian Oligarch Roman Abromovich Prevails in London Lawsuit

Roman Abramovich has won his London legal battle against exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.  Claiming $4.7 B in damages, Berezovsky alleged that Abramovich had intimidated him into selling his shares in Russian oil giant Sibneft, and had also broken a promise over a deal involving Russian aluminum company RusAl.  A London Commercial Court judge dismissed Berezovsky's claims in their entirety, saying in her ruling that: "On my analysis of the entirety of the evidence, I found Mr Berezovsky an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes."  In reaching her decision, the judge employed new technology, called MagnumCloud, which gave her, along with the trial lawyers, secure access to documents from computers in the courtroom.  Berezovsky now faces a large bill for attorney's fees, expected to be near $150 M, and said that although he did not regret bringing the case against Mr Abramovich, he did not yet know if he would appeal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19433325

Russia and China Partner in Siberian Aluminum Factory

The world’s largest aluminum producer, Rusal, has completed a deal with the leading Export-Import Bank of China to develop a $850 million greenfield project in Eastern Siberia. The plant will supply Rusal's aluminum smelters in Eastern Siberia who can then meet China's growing demand for aluminum, Rusal said in a statement. With the new plant located close to its key consumers, Rusal plans to shorten the supply chain and to cut costs. Rusal hopes that boosting cooperation with China will lead to a recovery in the aluminum market by 2013, if it also cuts production. “All producers should take responsibility for decisions on production volumes and more actively cut unprofitable production," Oleg Mukhamedshin, Rusal's  head of equity and corporate development told Reuters. "This particularly suggests China."
http://rt.com/business/news/rusal-china-bank-deal-181/