The Nuclear cluster “Skolkovo” is intended to attract 1B RUB in 2014

The Nuclear technologies Cluster of the “Skolkovo” Fund plans to attract in 2014 1B RUB for financing its projects, informed executive director of the cluster Igor Karavaev. According to him, for the previous two and a half years there has been given (within the Cluster limits) more than 20 grants on the amount of approximately 400M RUB, in the second half of this year we increase the amount of grants for more 10, and more 200M RUB we will give as a grant support. Taking into consideration private co-financing, for the last two and a half years there has been attracted about 600M RUB.

“We plan to increase this sum up to 1B RUB by the end of this year, and in the next year attract financing on the total amount of 1B RUB”, said he.

He reminded, that nowadays in the “Skolkovo” Fund about one thousand participants, which is explained by the branch specific, and also by the fact that average period of projects’ commercialization takes 5-7 years. At the same time the achieved portfolio, according to results of the first half-year comprises 80 companies-participants. The average weight of the Nuclear Cluster in the “Skolkovo” Fund is about 10%.

If to say about the development dynamics, Mr.Karavaev noted flow decrease of applications in 2013.

“This is the result of insufficient efforts on attraction of participations. The cluster needs to gather a critical amount of participants. In 2013 3 inactive participants have left the cluster. By the end of 2014 there will be not less than 130 inactive qualitative participants, taking into consideration, that we will say good bye to 10 of them. By 2020 we plan to have 200 participants”, - added he.