A new centre has been approved that could help the Russian Oil industry become more efficient.
The Centre of Applied Research on Energy efficient Heat Exchange and Catalysis (Project “UNIHEAT”) is a £9.3m ($14.7m) project which has been given official approval by Russia's Skolkovo Foundation. The Centre aims to reduce heat loss from the oil refining process by as much as 15% through improved operational efficiency.
The enhanced refining will also have significant spin-offs in reducing CO² emissions and improving oil production for greater sustainability. The Foundation will fund the Center with BP Russia, while the project itself will also involve the UK's Imperial College, London and Russia's Boreskov Institute of Catalysis. The Skolkovo Foundation is a Russian non-profit organization founded two years ago with the task of creating a new science and technology development centre in the Moscow suburb of Skolkovo.
According to Valentin Parmon, Boreskov Institute of Catalysis director, combining its experience in "the development and utilization of catalysts and catalytic processes with Imperial’s expertise in chemical technologies will lead to fundamentally new approaches in advancing energy efficient technologies for processing carbon fossil fuels." However, all parties involved seem to agree that the collaboration is as important from a business and academic perspective in general as it is for the project in particular.