‘There is a certain competition with KazanForum’: 22 regions of Russia and Belarus to visit TEF 2023

“We worked with a lot of states, but...”

This year, 22 regions of the country are taking part in the TEF, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Tatarstan Marat Minibayev stated. “Participation in the TEF is confirmed by representatives of 22 subjects of the Russian Federation — both at the level of authorities, and enterprises, organisations," he said.

The event will also be attended by representatives of the energy industry from Belarus. According to Igor Astafyev, the first deputy director general of the Kazan Expo IEC, it was not possible to attract more countries to the TEF because of KazanForum 2023, which will be held from May 18 to 20.

“We have worked with a large number of countries, but we need to understand that KazanForum is held in May. All the countries of the Middle East have already confirmed their participation there. In particular, companies in the energy sector will be represented. Our events are held quite close to each other, and due to the calendar of events, there is a certain competition between them," Astafyev said.

A special business programme, a meeting of the government of Tatarstan, contests for the best achievements in the field of energy, and the youth day “We choose energy efficiency” have been prepared for TEF 2023 — a total of 19 events. One of the key topics of the forum will be technological import substitution. As for the TatEnergyExpo exhibition, it will be attended by representatives of 16 regions of Russia, as well as “colleagues from Belarus” — a total of 71 companies.

As Realnoe Vremya found out earlier, TEF 2023 will cost 7,946 million rubles. Of these, 6,6 million are provided for the preparation and holding of the event, which, by the way, is the largest international event in the field of energy, energy efficiency and resource conservation in the Volga Federal District, another 1,34 million — for the manufacture and supply of handouts for participants.

“There are questions about high-power equipment”

The speakers touched upon the topic of import substitution and the problematic points of the industry. For example, Minibayev said that small-scale energy products are almost entirely produced by domestic companies. However, the issue of high-power equipment is acute.

“There are questions about high-power equipment, which are quite serious. We are going to discuss this at our panel discussion. Projects on ventilation types are also actively developing now, despite the fact that large companies have left. Smaller teams redeemed both technology and equipment. Now a number of companies are interested in starting the production of equipment in the republic," he stressed.

The deputy minister also noted the contribution of network companies to domestic production.

“Practically any equipment, cable products, equipment for transmission, distribution of electricity, transformer stations — all this is produced in Russia by different manufacturers. There is already their own competition between them. We have our own producers in the republic. In this regard, the network complex is prepared in the best way," he said.

As for wind energy, several proposals for the production of such equipment on the territory of Tatarstan are currently being considered. Minibayev said that this topic will also not go unnoticed at the forum.

Igor Astafyev, the deputy director general of the Kazan Expo IEC, told reporters that the contest “Energy Efficient Equipment and Technologies” finished last week, its results are summed up on the first day of the TEF. The speaker expressed his joy that “a huge number of applications” were received in the nomination “Best project — technical solution in import substitution in the field of energy and energy efficiency”.

“Taking into account the current situation, our exhibition event becomes an effective, high-quality tool for the presentation of import substitution, the presentation of our domestic products with the highest possible share of localisation, which, of course, pleases," he said.

“The guarantee that our energy has a future”

On the last day of the forum, April 7, the youth day “We choose energy efficiency” is held within the framework of the TEF. It includes six interactive events, including workshops, quizzes, and contests.

Minibayev also mentioned the quiz “What? Where? When?" — “the battle of the minds of young power engineers”. It will include issues related to the industry, its history and equipment. Besides, a student startup competition is being held in Tatarstan with the support of energy enterprises and the Ministry.

“We will meet with the winners of this programme, there will be a meeting with industrial partners, that is, with those companies that will directly implement their ideas. These are the students who have passed through a large selection stage, have already received funding, and they will already discuss issues of interaction with companies for the production of new products, the integration of their scientific work into the work of industrial enterprises," the deputy minister explained.

Also, on the youth day, there will be master classes in the direction of career guidance with the participation of the Kazan State Power Engineering University (KSPEU). According to Minibayev, the purpose of these events is to get acquainted with the working professions of the energy industry.

“Youth days are a great guarantee that our energy industry has a future, and we will definitely take all measures to ensure that events for the younger generation are held with maximum comfort," said Astafyev.