Schneider Electric to open its R&D center in Skolkovo

The Skolkovo Foundation and Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management, signed an agreement to create a new R&D center in Russia's Skolkovo Innovation City. The in-house R&D center, with a workforce of more than 100 employees by 2016, will be working to create an advanced energy distribution management system for electricity networks, develop control systems for autonomous generators and pipelines for various purposes and other innovative solutions. Around 90% of the company's staff at Skolkovo will be research personnel.

The agreement was signed by Viktor Vekselberg, President of the Skolkovo Foundation, Conor Lenihan, Vice-President for International Business, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric President, and Jean-Louis Stasi, CEO of JSC Schneider Electric Russia. Signing the agreement was the result of a series of meetings and talks held within the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Viktor Vekselberg, President of the Skolkovo Foundation said: Cooperation with companies such as Schneider Electric, who are leaders in their field and imposing new standards, is especially important to us. It is also worth noting that the company, in addition to their own researching solutions, will be participating directly in developing electric power supply system for the Skolkovo Innovation City.

Jean-Pascal Tricoire, President of Schneider Electric, said: Innovative technologies, research and development is the foundation of our strategy. Every year we invest more than 5% of company’s annual turnover in R & D, which is more than € 1 B. Schneider Electric innovations are created by the efforts of 11,000 technicians, engineers and developers in the six research centers of the company around the world. We already have a research center in Moscow and we are glad to have the opportunity to continue our development in the area of R & D in Silicon Valley of Russia. Through this agreement, we announced our willingness to invest in Russian science, which reaffirms our long-term strategic plans to work in Russia and for its benefits.