The ex-minister steps on the battery – Newspaper Kommersant No. 198 (7399) dated 10/25/2022

As Kommersant found out, former Communications Minister Leonid Reiman plans to launch the production of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics in Zelenograd. Fab LLC has already been established for the project, the company is headed by Oleg Lobanov, a native of GS Group. Kommersant’s sources in the electronics market say that the plant could cost 3-5 billion rubles. The ex-minister’s first attempt to engage in microelectronics in 2008-2019 was unsuccessful.

Kommersant found in the SPARK-Interfax database that former Communications Minister Leonid Reiman established Fab LLC in March with an authorized capital of 1 million rubles. and the main activity is the production of accumulators and electric batteries. Fab LLC is registered in Zelenograd. At the same address, according to the cadastral map, a non-residential building with an area of ​​1.9 thousand square meters is registered. m.

The LLC is headed by Oleg Lobanov. Until April 14, 2021, he held the position of CEO of NPO Digital Television Systems JSC (part of GS Group, manufactures set-top boxes and other consumer electronics). A Kommersant source familiar with the details of the project says that the ex-minister wants to build an enterprise for the production of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics, including smartphones, laptops, etc. He himself declined to comment.

Leonid Reiman served as Minister of Communications of the Russian Federation from 1999 to 2008. After leaving the civil service, he went into business – in particular, in 2013 he founded the venture capital fund Alternative Capital. One of the most famous projects of Mr. Reiman was an attempt to launch the Angstrem-T plant in 2008-2019, for the construction of which VEB.RF allocated a credit line. It was assumed that the plant will produce semiconductors in 130–90 nm topologies on 200 mm silicon wafers. But in 2019, Angstrem-T was declared bankrupt. As a result of the procedure, the claims of creditors included in the register amounted to 103 billion rubles, of which 97 billion rubles. belongs to VEB. The Russian Federation, which is trying to restart production (see “Kommersant” dated April 6).

In the Russian battery market, foreign products account for up to 94%, says Igor Kalganov, CEO of T1 Group. The top manager calls the launch in Russia of the production of batteries that can compete in price and quality with foreign counterparts an “ambitious task.” “Especially given that lithium is not currently mined in Russia – the main component for most types of batteries, and most of the other components – cases, cathode and anode tapes, separators, conductors – are purchased from abroad,” emphasizes Mr. Kalganov .

The market for uninterruptible power supplies and batteries in Russia is estimated at $360 million, and, by the most modest standards, about 30–40% of the market was vacated after the departure of a number of foreign manufacturers, adds Maxim Rodionov, head of the purchasing department of the 3Logic Group distributor: “This is a significant niche that is still not completely filled.

Kommersant’s interlocutor in the IT market also considers the direction promising: against the backdrop of plans by a number of large companies to scale up the production of consumer electronics in Russia, the need for lithium-ion batteries will only grow. “The launch of the plant at the first stage may cost 3-4 billion rubles, but it will be problematic. First of all, due to the lack of specialists in Russia capable of supplying such production, as well as the difficulties associated with importing equipment into the country,” he says.

According to the top manager of the Russian electronics manufacturer, the launch of the enterprise will require 5 billion rubles. He adds that batteries may be of interest to domestic electronics manufacturers, including because of the recently introduced scoring system for determining the domesticity of electronics by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (see Kommersant of September 15). According to it, the more domestic components an equipment manufacturer mounts in its products, the more likely it is to receive preferences in the public procurement market.

Nikita Korolev