OREANDA-NEWS. A partnership agreement between NPO Saturn, a Russian leading engine manufacturer and RVC was signed in Moscow today aimed at collaborating in the frame of the GenerationS-2015 federal competition serving as a technological startup accelerator. The agreement was signed by NPO Saturn CEO Ilya Fedorov and RVC general director Igor Agamirzyan.
This competition is administered by RVC since 2013 with the support of Russian corporations, growth institutes and venture market players. During the competition the best projects selected based on the results of several iterations of expert evaluation see intensive development and broad investment opportunities. In 2015 the GenerationS is being conducted in close collaboration with the Russian companies interested in finding prospective innovative technologies through the GenerationS regional network of partners bringing together startup schools, business incubators, universities and other participants of the innovative ecosystem dealing with startups exhibiting investment prospects and technically feasible developments.

NPO Saturn will act as the main Corporate partner of the GenrationS’s industrial domain in the field of high technologies and industrial tools for aerospace application (GenerationS Aerospace). Based on the competition results, the Samara-based Regional Innovation Center (RIC) was selected to operate the GenerationS Aerospace domain. In the frame of collaboration between RVC, NPO Saturn and RIC a series of acceleration events will be held for technological entrepreneurs of different stages. “Participation as an industrial partner in a national acceleration program gives Saturn an opportunity to weave an innovative network around itself consisting of project teams with interesting developments, - believes NPO Saturn CEO Ilya Fedorov. - We hope that there will be many diverse projects. Of course, as any machine-building company, we are interested in startups in such fields as additive manufacturing, new materials and machining techniques, engineering projects, robotics, software used for modeling and calculations, and so on. All that presents an interest to our business and is needed by all high-tech companies operating in the world market. What is also important to our internal competences is the fact that the best Saturn employees will become competition bid experts and project mentors; that will help us reach beyond the conventional technological capabilities and pinpoint prospects in the interdisciplinary fields. To us, GenerationS is the next step Saturn is making towards the open innovations, and we are excited to walk this road with such an experienced partner as RVC.”

The participation of NPO Saturn in GenerationS is a pilot format of using the “open innovations” tool in the corporate environment. RVC general director and chairman of the board Igor Agamirzyan noted: “The purpose of GenerationS is the implementation of synergy between Russia’s largest innovative corporations and prospective production processes offering solutions already needed by these corporations today. Capitalizing on the opportunities offered by GenerationS, RVC conjointly with NPO Saturn plan to support those projects that will be needed, among others, by the companies in the Gas turbine machinery and power engineering innovative territorial cluster located in the Yaroslavl Region. Thus, the agreement will facilitate the attraction of new high-tech projects into the cluster’s innovative environment and will emerge as an important step materializing NPO Saturn’s initiatives with regard to creating an innovative infrastructure around the company.”

According to Sergey Bogdanov, RIC executive director: “As the operator of the AeroSpace domain in the GenerationS accelerator, we plan to get the country’s strongest higher learning institutions involved in the process, the ones that train future professionals and conduct research in the fields that interest both the corporate partners of the accelerator, and other leading aerospace companies. Considering that today the intersectoral links are as important as never before, we will invite for participation in GenerationS even those projects whose relevance to aerospace might not seem evident but that can solve specific issues relevant to manufacturing, security, IT and management efficiency.”

About GenerationS

GenerationS is a federal technological startup accelerator whereby the best projects chosen as a result of a multi-step evaluation see intensive development and receive broad possibilities of attracting investments. GenerationS is administered by RVC since 2013 with the support of Russian corporations, growth institutes, and representatives of the venture infrastructure.
In 2015 GenerationS is being conducted in close cooperation with large-scale Russian corporations interested in finding prospective innovative technologies through the GenerationS regional partner network bringing together startup schools, business incubators, universities and other participants of the innovative ecosystem working with startups.

In 2014 1858 projects from 13 world countries and 65 Russian regions took part in GenerationS. Over 400 Russian and international experts acted as project mentors helping them develop and find strategic partners and investors. In 2014 the GenerationS prize fund equaled RUB 5 million while the value of the partner prizes amounted to RUB 38 million.

The NPO Saturn Research and Production Association (OJSC) is an engine-manufacturing company specialized in the design and development, production and after-market support of gas turbine engines for military and commercial aviation, naval ships and power-generating plants and gas-pumping units. The association is part of the Union of Russian mechanical engineers, an all-Russian public organization whereby the regional branch is headed by I. N. Fedorov, NPO Saturn CEO.

NPO Saturn is part of United Engine Corporation (JSC) and acts as the leader of the Commercial Engines Division, a business unit of UEC founded on 09.10.2012 as a result of integration of the following companies: NPO Saturn (OJSC), Aviadvigatel (OJSC), PMZ (OJSC), Metallist-PM (CJSC), Energetik-PM (OJSC), REMOS-PM (CJSC), Motoservis-PM (CJSC) and Zheleznodorozhnik-PM (CJSC).

United Engine Corporation (JSC) (a Rostec State Corporation company) is an integrated organization specialized in the design and development, serial production and after-market support of the engines for military and commercial aviation, space programs, the Navy, as well as for the oil and gas industry and power generation. One of UEC’s prioritized fields of activity is the implementation of comprehensive programs of development of the companies in the industry by introducing new technologies meeting the world-class standards. In 2013 revenues of the corporation amounted to RUB 158.9 billion.

The Rostec State Corporation is a Russian corporation established in 2007 in order to facilitate the development, manufacturing and export of high-technology industrial products of military and commercial application. Today it comprises over 700 companies, which form 9 defense-industrial and 5 civil industry holdings as well as 22 direct control companies. The Rostec portfolio includes such renowned brands as AVTOVAZ, KAMAZ, Russian Helicopters, VSMPO-AVISMA, etc. Rostec’s subsidiaries are located in 60 regions of Russia and deliver their products to over 70 countries worldwide. In 2013 revenues of the corporation amounted to RUB 1.04 trillion. Total taxation exceeded RUB 138 billion.