In August 2012, our country became a member of the World trade organization(WTO). This circumstance will inevitably lead to increased competition in the domestic market of power engineering. Here, as elsewhere, the law applies: "change or die." Without revising the technology and without carrying out a deep modernization, it will be almost impossible to fight the sharks of Western engineering. In this regard, the issues related to the development of modern equipment working as part of combined cycle plants(PGU).
Over the past two decades, combined cycle technology has become the most popular in the global energy sector - it accounts for up to two thirds of all generating capacities commissioned today on the planet. This is due to the fact that in combined-cycle plants, the energy of the burned fuel is used in a binary cycle - first in a gas turbine, and then in a steam one, and therefore CCGT is more efficient than any thermal power plant (TPP) operating only in a steam cycle.
At present, the only area in the thermal power industry in which gas turbine manufacturers from Russia are critically behind the world's leading manufacturers is high-capacity gas turbines - 200 MW and more. Moreover, foreign leaders have not only mastered the production of gas turbines with a unit capacity of 340 MW, but also successfully tested and use a single-shaft CCGT layout, when a gas turbine with a capacity of 340 MW and a steam turbine with a capacity of 160 MW have a common shaft. This arrangement allows to significantly reduce the construction time and the cost of the power unit.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia in March 2011 adopted the "Strategy for the development of power engineering Russian Federation for 2010–2020 and until 2030”, according to which this direction in the domestic power engineering industry receives solid support from the state. As a result, by 2016, the Russian power engineering industry should carry out industrial development, including full-scale tests and refinement on its own test benches, of advanced gas turbine units (GTP) with a capacity of 65-110 and 270-350 MW and combined-cycle plants (CCP) running on natural gas with an increase in their coefficient of performance (COP) up to 60%.
Moreover, gas turbine manufacturers from Russia are able to produce all the main units of CCGT - steam turbines, boilers, turbogenerators, but a modern gas turbine is not yet given. Although back in the 70s, our country was a leader in this direction, when for the first time in the world supercritical steam parameters were mastered.
In general, as a result of the implementation of the Strategy, it is assumed that the share of power unit projects using foreign main power equipment should be no more than 40% by 2015, no more than 30% by 2020, and no more than 10% by 2025 . It is believed that otherwise there may be a dangerous dependence of the stability of the unified energy system of Russia on the supply of foreign components. During the operation of power equipment, it is regularly required to replace a number of components and parts operating in conditions high temperatures and pressure. At the same time, some of these components are not produced in Russia. For example, even for the domestic gas turbine GTE-110 and licensed GTE-160, some of the most important components and parts (for example, disks for rotors) are purchased only abroad.
In our market, such large and advanced concerns as Siemens and General Electric are actively and very successfully operating, which often win tenders for the supply of power equipment. There are already several generating facilities in the Russian energy system, to some extent equipped with the main energy equipment manufactured by Siemens, General Electric, etc. True, their total capacity does not yet exceed 5% of the total capacity of the Russian energy system.
However, many generating companies that use domestic equipment when replacing it still prefer to turn to firms with which they have been accustomed to work for decades. This is not just a tribute to tradition, but a justified calculation - many Russian companies carried out a technological renovation of production and are fighting on an equal footing with the world's power engineering giants. Today we will talk in more detail about the prospects of such large enterprises, as OJSC "Kaluga Turbine Plant" (Kaluga), CJSC "Ural Turbine Plant" (Yekaterinburg), NPO "Saturn" (Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Region), Leningrad metal plant(St. Petersburg), Perm Motor-Building Complex (Perm Territory).
A gloating article appeared in the Western press that the construction of new power plants in Crimea actually stopped due to Western sanctions - after all, we seem to have forgotten how to make turbines for power plants ourselves and bowed to Western companies, which are now forced to curtail their operations due to sanctions. deliveries and thereby leave Russia without turbines for energy.
“The project called for Siemens turbines to be installed at the power plants. However, in this case, this German engineering company risks violating the sanctions regime. Sources say that in the absence of turbines, the project faces serious delays. Siemens officials have always said that they did not intend to implement supply of equipment.
Russia has explored the possibility of acquiring turbines from Iran, making changes to the design to install Russian-made turbines, and using Western turbines previously purchased by Russia and already located on its territory. Each of these alternatives comes with its own set of challenges, which sources say officials and project leaders are unable to agree on how to move forward.
This story demonstrates that, despite official denials, Western sanctions do have a real negative impact on the Russian economy. It also sheds light on the decision-making mechanism under Vladimir Putin. It is about the propensity of high officials, according to sources close to the Kremlin, to make grandiose political promises that are almost impossible to realize.
"Back in October 2016, company representatives at a briefing in Munich reported that Siemens excludes the use of its gas turbines at thermal power plants in the Crimea. We are talking about gas turbines that are produced in Russia at the Siemens gas turbine technology plant in St. Petersburg, which was put into operation in 2015. The shares in this company are distributed as follows: Siemens - 65%, Power Machines - beneficiary A. Mordashov - 35%. gas turbines at 160 MW, and in the contract signed in the spring of 2016, a thermal power plant in Taman is indicated.
In fact, it so happened that since the times of the USSR, the production of gas turbine units for power plants was concentrated at 3 enterprises - in the then Leningrad, as well as in Nikolaev and Kharkov. Accordingly, during the collapse of the USSR, Russia was left with only one such plant - LMZ. Since 2001, this plant has been manufacturing Siemens turbines under license.
"It all started in 1991, when a joint venture was created - then still LMZ and Siemens - for the assembly of gas turbines. An agreement was signed on the transfer of technology to the then Leningrad Metal Plant, which is now part of Power Machines OJSC. On this The joint venture assembled 19 turbines over 10 years.Over the years, LMZ has accumulated production experience in order to learn not only to assemble these turbines, but also to manufacture some components on their own.Based on this experience, in 2001 a license agreement was concluded with Siemens for the right of production, sales and after-sales after-sales service turbines of the same type. They received the Russian marking GTE-160".
Where did their developments, which were successfully carried out there over the previous approximately 40 years, go? As a result, domestic power engineering (gas turbine building) was left with nothing. Now we have to beg abroad in search of turbines. Even in Iran.
"Rostec Corporation has reached an agreement with the Iranian company Mapna, which manufactures German gas turbines under license from Siemens. Thus, gas turbines manufactured in Iran according to the drawings of German Siemens can be installed at new power plants in Crimea."
Kremensky Sergey © IA Krasnaya Vesna
According to Russian and foreign media reports, in December 2017, a 110 MW gas turbine failed to pass life tests at the Saturn plant in Rybinsk.
Foreign media, in particular Reuters, citing their sources, stated that the turbine had collapsed and could not be restored.
The head of Gazprom Energoholding, Denis Fedorov, at the Russian International Energy Forum, which took place at the end of April 2018, stated even more radically that the development of a domestic high-capacity gas turbine should be abandoned: "It's pointless to practice with this further". At the same time, he proposes to completely localize foreign turbine production, that is, to buy a plant and licenses from Siemens.
I remember the cartoon "Flying Ship". The tsar asks the boyar Polkan if he can build a flying ship, in response he hears: "I will buy!".
But who will sell? In the current political environment of the “war of sanctions”, not a single Western company will dare to sell a plant and technology to Russia. Yes, even though it will sell, it is high time to learn how to make gas turbines at domestic enterprises. At the same time, the media publish a completely adequate position of an unnamed representative of the United Engine Corporation (UEC), which includes the Saturn Rybinsk plant. He believes that the "difficulties during the tests were expected, this will affect the completion time, but is not fatal for the project".
For the reader, we will explain the advantages of modern combined-cycle plants (CCGT), which are replacing traditional large thermal power plants. In Russia, about 75% of electricity is generated by thermal power plants (TPPs). To date, more than half of thermal power plants are used as fuel natural gas. Natural gas can be burned directly in steam boilers and, using traditional steam turbines, generate electricity, while the fuel energy utilization rate for electricity generation does not exceed 40%. If the same gas is burned in a gas turbine, then the hot exhaust gas is sent to the same steam boiler, then steam to the steam turbine, then the fuel energy utilization factor for electricity generation reaches 60%. Typically, one combined cycle plant (CCGT) uses two gas turbines with generators, one steam boiler and one steam turbine with a generator. In the combined production of electricity and heat at the same power plant, both CCGT and traditional CHP, the fuel energy utilization factor can reach 90%.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, work on the serial production of large-capacity gas turbines was terminated in Russia due to fierce competition from Western companies and the lack of state support for promising developments.
A situation similar to the civil aviation industry and other branches of engineering has arisen.
However, not everything is so bad, in 2004-2006 a single order of two GTD-110 gas turbines for the Ivanovo PGU was completed, but this order turned out to be unprofitable for the Rybinsk plant, it was not profitable. The fact is that during the manufacture of the first GTD-110 turbines according to the project of the Mashproekt Institute (Nikolaev, Ukraine), it was not possible to place an order in Russia for forging the central part of the turbine, since special melting metal was required, and this grade was steel for several years no one ordered, and Russian metallurgists broke the price many times higher than in Germany or Austria. No one promised the plant orders for a series of turbines. The production planning horizon for 2-3 years did not allow the Rybinsk plant to master the technology of serial production of GTD-110 back in 2004-2006.
Since 1991, Russia has adopted a strategy of entering the common European home, the market, and in the logic of this market there was no point in developing its technologies from a lower position. And the mechanism of competitive bidding, applied by the directive of the main customer - RAO UES of Russia, led to the victory of Western competitors. The essence of the mechanism is a formal one-stage open auction without any preferences for Russian manufacturers. No self-respecting country in the world allows itself such a trading option.
A similar situation has developed at the plants in St. Petersburg, which are part of the Power Machines association, where, back in Soviet times, it was planned to manufacture gas turbines with a capacity of over 160 MW.
The position of the representative of the United Engine Corporation (UEC) is absolutely correct: it is necessary to continue fine-tuning the manufacturing technology in Rybinsk and St. Petersburg. The involvement of Inter RAO is necessary, since its branch Ivanovskie CCGT has a test bench and operates the first Russian-made gas turbines.
Thus, we see that Reuters is wishful thinking, reporting the failure of import substitution and modernization. Apparently they are afraid that the Russian machine builders will succeed. Reuters insinuations are a feed for our domestic liberals in the economic bloc. In a conventional war, this is identical to the scatter of leaflets "Give up. Moscow has already fallen.
When creating new views technical equipment so-called "childhood diseases" usually appear in the design, which are successfully eliminated by engineers.
Life testing is a necessary stage in the creation of new equipment, which is carried out to determine the operating time of the structure before the appearance of defects that prevent further operation. Identification of problem points during life tests is normal working situation when mastering new technology.
Plant "Rybinsk motors" in Soviet times specialized in the production of aircraft engines and gas turbines for compressor units power up to 25 MW.
Currently, the plant is part of the NPO Saturn association, which has successfully mastered the production of powerful marine gas turbines and is working on the creation and serial production of high-power power turbines.
Prior to the imposition of sanctions against Russia, the production of its own gas turbines for power stations slowed down by the fact that the Russian economy was integrated into the global market, in which Western engineering companies occupied a monopoly position.
The current situation in the world requires perseverance in continuing work on the project. Creating a line of powerful power gas turbines will require 2-3 years of hard work, but it is justified in any case, regardless of whether Russia is under sanctions or not, this is real import substitution. The gigantic energy market of Russia will provide loading for the machine-building industry, metallurgy of special steels and will give a multiplier effect in related industries.
The huge volume of the energy market is due to the fact that in the next twenty years the country's thermal power plants will have to be modernized. Hundreds, thousands of gas turbines will be required. It is necessary to stop burning such a valuable fuel as natural gas with an energy utilization rate of 35-40%.
The difficult international situation is forcing Russia to speed up import substitution programs, especially in strategic sectors. In particular, in order to overcome dependence on imports in the energy sector, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation are developing measures to support domestic turbine construction. Are Russian manufacturers, including the only specialized plant in the Ural Federal District, ready to meet the growing demand for new turbines, the RG correspondent found out.
At the new CHPP "Akademicheskaya" in Yekaterinburg, a turbine manufactured by UTZ is operating as part of a CCGT. Photo: Tatyana Andreeva / RG
Chairman of the State Duma Energy Committee Pavel Zavalny notes two main problems of the energy industry - its technological backwardness and a high percentage of depreciation of the existing main equipment.
According to the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, over 60 percent of power equipment in Russia, in particular turbines, has exhausted its park resource. In the Urals Federal District, in the Sverdlovsk region, there are more than 70 percent of these, however, after the commissioning of new capacities, this percentage has slightly decreased, but still there is a lot of old equipment and it needs to be changed. After all, energy is not just one of the basic industries, the responsibility here is too high: imagine what will happen if you turn off the light and heat in winter, - says Yuri Brodov, head of the Turbines and Engines Department of the Ural Power Engineering Institute of UrFU, Doctor of Technical Sciences.
According to Zavalny, the fuel utilization ratio at Russian thermal power plants is slightly above 50 percent, while the share of combined cycle gas plants (CCGTs) considered the most efficient is less than 15 percent. It should be noted that CCGTs were put into operation in Russia in the last decade - exclusively on the basis of imported equipment. The situation with the Siemens arbitration lawsuit regarding the alleged illegal delivery of their equipment to the Crimea showed what a trap this is. But it is unlikely that it will be possible to quickly solve the problem of import substitution.
The fact is that if domestic steam turbines have been quite competitive since the times of the USSR, then the situation with gas turbines is much worse.
When the Turbomotor Plant (TMZ) in the late 1970s and early 1980s was tasked with creating a 25 megawatt power gas turbine, it took 10 years (three samples were made that required further refinement). The last turbine was decommissioned in December 2012. In 1991, the development of an energy gas turbine began in Ukraine, in 2001 RAO "UES of Russia" somewhat prematurely decided to organize series production turbines at the Saturn site. But it is still a long way to the creation of a competitive machine, - says Valery Neuimin, Ph.D.
Engineers are able to reproduce previously developed products, there is no question of creating a fundamentally new one
This is not only about the Ural Turbine Plant (UTZ is the assignee of TMZ. - Ed.), but also about others Russian manufacturers. Some time ago, at the state level, it was decided to buy gas turbines abroad, mainly in Germany. At that time, the plants curtailed the development of new gas turbines and switched for the most part to the manufacture of spare parts for them, - says Yuri Brodov. - But now the country has set the task of reviving domestic gas turbine construction, because it is impossible to depend on Western suppliers in such a responsible industry.
The same UTZ has been actively involved in the construction of combined cycle units in recent years - it supplies steam turbines for them. But along with them, foreign-made gas turbines are installed - Siemens, General Electric, Alstom, Mitsubishi.
Today, two and a half hundred imported gas turbines operate in Russia - according to the Ministry of Energy, they make up 63 percent of the total. About 300 new machines are required to modernize the industry, and by 2035 - twice as many. Therefore, the task was set to create worthy domestic developments and put production on stream. First of all, the problem is in high-power gas turbine plants - they simply do not exist, and attempts to create them have not yet been successful. So, the other day, the media reported that during the tests in December 2017, the last sample of the GTE-110 (GTE-110M - a joint development of Rosnano, Rostec and InterRAO) collapsed.
The state has high hopes for the Leningrad Metal Works (Power Machines), the largest manufacturer of steam and hydraulic turbines, which also has a joint venture with Siemens to produce gas turbines. However, as Valery Neuimin notes, if initially our side in this joint venture had 60 percent of the shares, and the Germans 40, then today the ratio is the opposite - 35 and 65.
The German company is not interested in the development of competitive equipment by Russia - years of joint work testify to this, - Neuimin expresses doubts about the effectiveness of such a partnership.
According to him, in order to create own production gas turbines, the state must support at least two enterprises in the Russian Federation so that they compete with each other. And you shouldn’t develop a high-power machine right away - it’s better to first bring to mind a small turbine, say, with a capacity of 65 megawatts, work out the technology, as they say, fill your hand and then move on to a more serious model. Otherwise, the money will be thrown to the wind: "it's like instructing an unknown company to develop spaceship, because a gas turbine is by no means a simple thing," the expert states.
As for the production of other types of turbines in Russia, not everything is going smoothly here either. At first glance, the capacities are quite large: today only UTZ, as RG was told at the enterprise, is capable of producing power equipment with a total capacity of up to 2.5 gigawatts per year. However, it is quite arbitrary to call the machines produced by Russian factories new: for example, the T-295 turbine, designed to replace the T-250 designed in 1967, does not differ radically from its predecessor, although a number of innovations have been introduced into it.
Today, turbine developers are mainly engaged in "buttons for a suit," Valery Neuimin believes. - In fact, now there are people left at the factories who are still able to reproduce previously developed products, but there is no question of creating a fundamentally new technique. This is a natural result of perestroika and the dashing 90s, when industrialists had to think about simply surviving. In fairness, we note: Soviet steam turbines were exceptionally reliable, a multiple margin of safety allowed power plants to operate for several decades without replacing equipment and without serious accidents. According to Valery Neuimin, modern steam turbines for thermal power plants have reached the limit of their efficiency, and the introduction of any innovations in existing designs will not radically improve this indicator. And for the time being, Russia cannot count on a quick breakthrough in gas turbine construction.
In Russia, on behalf of the president, the government is preparing a large-scale program for the modernization of thermal power plants (TPPs), which is estimated at 1.5 trillion rubles and can start in 2019. One of its main conditions will be the use of Russian equipment. Is it possible to update the electric power industry at the expense of domestic developments, he spoke about the development of new turbines, export potential and the necessary support from the state in an interview with the Prime agency CEO"Power Machines" Timur Lipatov, who headed the company three months ago.
- What is Power Machines focusing on now? Will you work mainly for the thermal power industry due to the upcoming modernization program?
For anyone. We cannot neglect any niche, the situation in the industry is not the best: markets are shrinking, competition is growing. Therefore, we make almost the entire range of equipment for nuclear, thermal and hydropower.
- What demand from Russian electric power companies are Power Machines ready for within the framework of the modernization program for thermal power plants?
In the first competitive selection for modernization, projects with a total capacity of 11 GW will be selected, first of all, this will be the reconstruction of our traditional steam power equipment. Our production capacities allow us to produce up to 8.5 GW of turbine equipment per year, the same volume of generators, about 50 thousand tons of boiler equipment.
We have well-developed projects for the modernization of K-200 and K-300 turbines, and there is a project for the modernization of K-800. These projects allow you to increase power, efficiency, extend the resource, respond flexibly to what the client needs. But the program is not limited to 200 and 300 MW condensing units (i.e. generating electricity - ed.), so we are concentrating on the PT-60 and PT-80 cogeneration turbines. Their design has been revised, including improving the design of the hull and steam distribution. In parallel, solutions have been developed for the replacement and modernization of third-party turbines. First of all, we are talking about the machines of the Kharkov Turbine Plant.
- It is planned to include a norm on 100% localization of production in Russia in the TPP modernization program necessary equipment. Apart from gas turbines, what equipment is still to be localized?
In my opinion, the only problem in the production of generating equipment in Russia is large-sized castings and the production of large forgings ( metal blank obtained as a result of forging or hot stamping - ed.).
Historically, there were three manufacturers of cast billets in the USSR, two of which - in the Urals and in St. Petersburg - closed the foundry. As a result, he remained in Russia sole supplier, which does not always provide required quality, and we are forced to purchase large-sized cast billets abroad, where their quality is more stable. We believe in the potential of Russian metallurgical enterprises, we believe that with appropriate state support and the appearance of guaranteed demand, they will be able to restore their competencies and provide power engineering with high-quality cast billets and forgings. This is a parallel process, it is part of the TPP modernization program, although it may not be on the surface right now.
- Power Machines announced plans to develop a high-capacity domestic gas turbine. Are you discussing partnerships with Russian or foreign companies?
The basic option is the independent development of gas turbines, since the localization that any foreign company, this is, as a rule, localization "by hardware". We see our task not in repeating in Russia the production of an obsolete foreign model of a gas turbine, but in restoring the domestic school of gas turbine construction.
Our final goal– to restart the production cycle of gas turbines by organizing a design bureau, creating calculation methods, a bench base, and thereby protecting the Russian energy industry from various negative external manifestations.
- What is the share of gas turbines of foreign manufacturers in Russia?
According to our estimates, if we take the existing combined cycle (CCGT) and gas turbine units (GTU), more than 70% are supplies from foreign manufacturers, about 24% more are gas turbines manufactured by Interturbo (established in the 90s by a joint venture of the Leningrad Metal Plant and Siemens).
At the same time, despite the presence of joint ventures, the manufacture of the most significant elements of gas turbines - hot path components (fuel combustion chambers, turbine blades - ed.) and control systems is not localized in Russia. Production is limited only to the assembly and manufacture of individual components that are not critical for the performance of gas turbines and the energy security of Russia as a whole.
- What line of gas turbines would Power Machines want to produce?
We start with 65 MW F-class and 170 MW E-class machines. In the future, it is planned to create a high-speed turbine for 100 MW with a free power turbine. Subsequently, it is possible to develop a 300-400 MW F or H-class 3000 rpm gas turbine using scaling principles for a part of the components.
- If Power Machines will independently develop the turbine, then at what production site?
Here on our production facilities in St. Petersburg.
- How much do you estimate the cost of R&D in general? What are the startup costs industrial production? And how long can it take?
We estimate the entire project for 65 and 170 MW machines at 15 billion rubles. This amount includes the costs of R&D and development of technologies, the development and technical re-equipment of design and technological services, the modernization of the experimental research and production base. The production will be ready for the production of prototype turbines in two years.
- Why do you think that you will be able to develop a turbine? In Russia, other companies have many years of failed attempts.
At one time, we were in the trend for gas turbines. The first such machine with a capacity of 100 MW was made at LMZ (Leningrad Metal Works, part of Power Machines - ed.) in the 60s. And it fully corresponded to the technologies of that time. This backlog, unfortunately, was lost during the perestroika period. This area of power engineering in the world has become so technologically advanced, has gone so far that in the 90s more in a simple way its restoration was the acquisition of the right to use intellectual property and the localization of production in Russia. As a result, in the 1990s, in partnership with Siemens, LMZ created the Interturbo joint venture, from which the modern STGT grew (a joint venture between Siemens and Power Machines - ed.). The production of equipment was located at the facilities of the LMZ and reached an honest 50% localization. As part of Interturbo, we have gained experience in the production of gas turbine components, which is very correlated with our current work.
In the recent past, Power Machines independently, no longer within the framework of joint venture, implemented a project for the development and production of a gas turbine GTE-65 with a capacity of 65 MW. The machine went through a full cycle of cold tests, reached the so-called “full speed, no load” tests, but due to the lack of an experimental thermal power plant for testing and testing the technology, it was not put into commercial operation.
- What, in your opinion, will contribute to the rapid development of gas turbine production technology in Russia?
I will name three fundamental factors. The first is preferences for mastering the production of Russian gas turbines as part of the TPP modernization program. This goal, thanks to a reasonable dialogue between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Energy, we believe, has been achieved. We hope that as part of the subsequent selection of projects for participation in the modernization program, restrictions on the marginal capital costs for projects using domestic gas turbines will be lifted. This will make facilities with domestic gas turbines more investment-attractive.
The second factor is the possibility of construction by Power Machines on its own or with a partner of experimental TPPs with a total capacity of 1.4 GW under the KOM NGO mechanism (it guarantees investors the payback of projects for the construction of new power plants due to increased consumer payments for capacity - ed.). This is necessary to bring to readiness for industrial operation prototype gas turbines and gain the necessary experience and competencies for all possible implementations - single-shaft, two-shaft and three-shaft CCGT for gas turbines of all types.
And thirdly, the speedy release of government decree No. 719 (amendments to the decree regulating the issues of localization of production in the Russian Federation - ed.), which will put all manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, on an equal footing.
- As part of the TPP modernization program, do you expect to conclude contracts not only for specific power plants, but also for companies, perhaps for the entire duration of the program?
Of course, we are interested in long-term cooperation, but as part of the modernization program, the generating companies themselves will only have to participate in competitive selections.
At the same time, from my point of view, the conclusion of such long-term contracts is a normal practice that will allow us to plan production program and not to let the contractors down in time if their projects are selected.
Now the main discussions concern framework contracts for repair and maintenance and supply of spare parts. Assessing the annual and three year plans repair campaigns, we typically see the potential to reduce the cost of parts and services by up to 15% due to the alignment of production schedules.
- What kind of discussions are being held, are there any obstacles to the development of the service sector?
The main obstacle to development is "garage production". In the Soviet Union, drawings were often in free circulation; in the 90s, insufficient attention was paid to the protection intellectual property. Not surprisingly, the result was great amount one-day firms, where people in artisanal conditions, literally in the garage, produce obsolete spare parts, with deviations from the formulary sizes, inconsistencies in materials in terms of physical and mechanical characteristics.
We receive a large number of inquiries from consumers with a request to agree on certain deviations in working documentation from the original design during renovations. I see serious risks in this, since the reason for the failure of our equipment may be the use of non-original spare parts made with deviations. There are few serious players who can ensure the proper timing and quality of work.
- How big is the problem of counterfeit products?
The market is filled with non-original spare parts, including counterfeit ones. We are working to protect our technologies, return intellectual property and prohibit its use by other players using the opportunities that the civil and criminal codes give us. They did not bear the cost of R & D (research and development work - ed.), do not guarantee quality, damage our reputation. We count on support in this matter from Rostekhnadzor, as well as other manufacturers.
- In the medium term, will the company focus on the domestic market or foreign projects? What countries are you primarily considering for work? What technologies are in demand abroad?
- Power Machines has a great export and technological potential. The main share of our projects abroad now is either nuclear and hydraulic topics, where we compete on equal terms with global manufacturers, or steam power units (reconstruction of previously delivered machines, production of equipment for burning fuels such as fuel oil and crude oil). The share of exports varies, but averages around 50%.
In order to increase exports, we must master two fundamentally important technologies that are not currently available in Russia. First, to restore the production of domestic gas turbines of medium and large capacity. Secondly, to make a pulverized coal boiler and a steam turbine for super-supercritical steam parameters (SSCP). Existing technologies make it possible to achieve sufficiently high efficiency of 45-47% on steam turbines operating on the SSKP. This is a reasonable alternative to the combined cycle cycle, given the relatively low cost of coal, and often due to the lack of gas in the region. We have already developed the design documentation for the 660 MW SSKP turbine and are ready to put it into production as soon as an order appears.
In order for new products to be in demand abroad, they must first be manufactured and introduced in the home market, in Russia. The presence of references will allow us to enter our traditional markets - in Asia and Latin America, in the Middle East. One of the ways to obtain the necessary competencies is the construction of experimental stations within the framework of the KOM NGO mechanism. In addition, you need governmental support– through the channels of intergovernmental agreements, with the involvement of export financing, concessional lending. This is how it was done in the Soviet Union, this is how our competitors abroad are doing now.
- What other directions of the company's development do you see?
One of the directions will be to support small technology companies. There are a huge number of startups on the market that are complementary to our technological chain and sales channels. We intend to actively support the development of such companies by joining their share capital, R&D and technology financing, guarantees. The transfer of control will allow shareholders to earn significantly more income by increasing sales volumes and expanding their channels. I ask everyone to consider this an official invitation, we will gladly consider proposals. There are already examples of such successful interaction.
