From river to river: how Siberia is turning into the territory of Russia's new industrialization

The International Congress REDMET-2026, dedicated to the development of the rare metal industry, was held in Moscow at the site of RTU MIREA. The Angara-Yenisei cluster of deep processing of non-ferrous, rare and rare-earth metals became a key topic of discussion. The project, combining science, industry and education, aims to build complete technological chains in Siberia — from raw materials to final high-tech products. Details can be found in the Izvestia publication.

Betting on high conversion rates

Rare, rare-earth and non-ferrous metals are becoming one of the key resources of technological development. Microelectronics, power electronics, electric transport, robotics, energy storage systems, new materials, medical equipment, the military-industrial complex and many other industries that determine the competitiveness of states in the 21st century depend on them.

This agenda is of particular importance for Russia. The country has a significant mineral resource base, but over the years, a significant part of the value added in the field of critical products has been formed outside the national economy. Raw materials were extracted and exported, while highly processed products — materials, components, and end products — were largely imported.

Today, this model requires a systemic change. This is not just about the development of a separate industry, but about the deployment of complete production cycles of processing raw materials in a single circuit — from research and development centers, mining and metallurgical enterprises to the production of final high—tech products. This approach is the basis of the Angara-Yenisei cluster project for deep processing of non-ferrous, rare and rare-earth metals.

Discussion of the project

The REDMET Congress-2026 is a platform for discussing the development of the rare metal industry, technological independence, supply chain sustainability, human resources, environmental transformation of production, digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence. It brought together scientists, technologists, representatives of industry, business and government. One of the central places in his program was occupied by a special panel discussion with a focus on the Angara-Yenisei cluster as a full-cycle distributed scientific, technological and industrial system being created in the field of non-ferrous, rare and rare earth metals. This project should become one of the pillars for building a high-value-added economy in the Russian Federation.

"Today, rare and rare earth metals, high—purity chemicals and new materials are becoming the basis for the development of almost all high-tech industries - from microelectronics and energy to aircraft manufacturing, electric transport and artificial intelligence systems. In these conditions, the key task is not only the extraction of raw materials, but also the creation of complete production chains within the country — from science and processing technologies to the production of high-grade products. This is the model that the Angara-Yenisei cluster is building. It should become a reference center for the production of high-tech products based on rare and rare-earth metals in Siberia. The project combines the resource base, science, technological solutions, pilot production, industrial transfer, personnel training and international cooperation," said Yurin.

Cluster task

According to Ksenia Shoigu, General Director of the Mendeleev Valley Innovative Science and Technology Center Development Fund, the cluster's project office, the key task of the project is to manage complex cross-industry cooperation in the formation of a full—cycle scientific and production system.

"It's about closing technological gaps and assembling complete sovereign production chains that are critical to technological sovereignty. But for such a framework to become a working model, we need a project center that connects investors, industrial and technological partners, science and education, development institutions, and the state as a regulator and strategic customer," Ksenia Shoigu emphasized during the panel discussion.

The logic of the Angara-Yenisei cluster is to build a single production and scientific circuit, where the raw material base, energy, scientific competencies, personnel, processing technologies, engineering solutions, pilot production facilities and mass production are interconnected from the very beginning.

Why Siberia

The scale of the project was determined by the composition of the participants. The Angara-Yenisei cluster includes the country's largest companies and state corporations, most relevant federal ministries, regional governments of the Siberian Federal District, and leading educational and scientific organizations of the Russian Federation.

Siberia was chosen as the most suitable territory for hosting the cluster, since it is there that several key factors converge: a resource base, a powerful energy potential, a well-developed industry, scientific schools, and the scale of the territory that allows manufacturing enterprises to be located with a reasonable logistical leverage. The project outline includes the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Irkutsk Region, the Republic of Khakassia and the Republic of Tyva.

The cluster will strengthen Siberia in the industrial architecture of the country and further shift the regional focus towards high-value conversion. The volume of added value created within the subjects of the Siberian Federal District will increase significantly — through deep processing, production of materials, components and technological solutions for the industries of the future.

In addition, the project will give an impetus to the additional infrastructural development of Siberia. The Siberian Federal District is currently a territory with a surplus of electricity. The Angara-Yenisei cascade of hydroelectric power plants alone produces about 25 GW. The planned industrial facilities of the Cluster will require significant capacities to ensure technological processes, and in order to preserve the reserves for the development of the territory, the project team is working with relevant federal executive authorities, the system operator and investors to launch new generation facilities. According to preliminary estimates, this will provide about 19 GW of electricity.

Investments and first facilities

According to Ksenia Shoigu, General Director of the Mendeleev Valley Innovative Science and Technology Center Development Fund, the project is currently in an active pre-investment stage. Cooperation with partners, authorities and scientific organizations has been established. Nine agreements have been signed with investment partners, and the investment portfolio amounts to more than 700 billion rubles.

The first facilities will appear at the sites in Minusinsk and Sayanogorsk. This is a hydrometallurgical plant for processing the ore concentrate of the Tastygskoye deposit with the production of lithium hydroxide and carbonate. It is planned to launch a low-tonnage chemical plant to provide the chains with the necessary reagents. A data processing center has been designed to create advanced digital solutions. Work on these projects will begin this year.

"Also this year, we will begin the construction of an Innovative Scientific and Technological Center. It will become a research base for the development of applied solutions in the field of additive technologies, electric propulsion, energy storage, separation of raw materials, digital technologies, as well as artificial intelligence. The pool of the first residents has already been determined," said Ksenia Shoigu.

In the strategic horizon up to 2040, the total investment forecast may amount to 1.5 trillion rubles, including production projects, the creation of an innovative scientific and technological center infrastructure, energy, transport, personnel and social solutions. It is planned to create more than 23,500 new jobs, develop engineering and scientific career paths, and form research centers and applied laboratories. For Siberia, this means not only launching new production facilities, but also creating an environment where young specialists, engineers, technologists and scientists can build long-term professional careers in high-tech industries.

Two stages of development

The cluster is expected to be developed in stages. At the first stage, until 2031, the main focus is on creating a scientific, technological, engineering and pilot industrial base. During this period, it is planned to launch research and development centers in the field of materials and electrolytes for energy storage systems and new materials, a design bureau, a certification center with an accredited laboratory, a center for additive materials science and contract 3D printing. The infrastructure of the scientific and technological center will be put into operation and the process of active transfer of innovative developments to industry will begin.

At the second stage, by 2036— the cluster should move from building a technological reserve to expanding the industrial part and strengthening resource independence. On this horizon, it is planned to develop an engineering center for technologies for the extraction and production of heavy rare earth metals, launch the production of energy storage systems, powders for 3D printing, a data processing center for artificial intelligence tasks, enterprises for the production of low-power electric motors, as well as a number of projects in metallurgy, mechanical engineering and energy equipment.

Thus, the cluster's design logic is built around consistently closing technological gaps. A scientific, engineering and pilot industrial base is being formed, production facilities for the production of intermediates and components are being launched, as well as enterprises producing end products for high-tech industries.

This approach is especially important for the rare and rare earth metals industry. It is not enough to simply involve the deposits in the turnover. Technologies of separation, purification, production of high-purity compounds, production of magnets, metal powders, materials for energy storage, power electronics and other critical products are of key importance. It is in these areas that the main added value and technological independence are formed.

Additive technologies

A good example of this logic is the construction of a technological chain in the field of additive technologies in the Angara-Yenisei cluster. One of its key elements is the Center for Additive Materials Science. His task is to research new materials for 3D printing and provide the Russian market with metal powder compositions. We are talking not only about standard powders, but also about materials based on non-ferrous, rare and rare-earth metals, as well as their alloys. Such materials are in demand for printing parts of power and gas turbine installations, components of space technology, small satellites, mining and automotive equipment. A separate and very important element is the certification laboratory in the field of additive materials science. For industrial applications of new powders and products, it is not enough to confirm their operability under experimental conditions. A system of testing, confirmation of characteristics and approval of materials for use in critical industries is needed. Without such an infrastructure, additive technologies remain at the prototyping level and do not enter into mass industrial practice.

The next link in the chain should be the Center for Additive Technologies of Public Access, which is planned to be built in 2028-2029. This is not only a research, but also a production and engineering platform. Its functionality includes contract 3D printing of unique products and small batches, engineering, modeling and reverse engineering services. Such a center will allow enterprises not to create their own expensive infrastructure from scratch, but to gain access to competencies and equipment as production tasks arise.

The logic of the whole model is to bring together complementary competencies in one contour. First, new metal powder compositions are created. They are then applied in additive printing. On this basis, new approaches are being formed to product design, rapid prototyping, production of small batches and production of repair kits directly near the place of operation. At the same time, engineering competencies are being developed, which are necessary for designing parts for additive technologies, rather than simply copying traditional production solutions.

An important advantage of such a chain is its connection with the university and research environment. The centers are planned to be implemented in cooperation with the initiators of the project, including the Siberian Federal University and the Mendeleev Russian Technical Technical University. This will make it possible to use the infrastructure not only for industrial tasks, but also for research, training specialists and involving students and research teams in real technological projects.

At the same time, the development of additive technologies should be based not only on technological, but also on economic logic. An understandable amount of consumption is necessary for the stable operation of the chain.: who exactly will use the powders, which products will be printed, in which industries they will be used, and how economically feasible it is compared to traditional technologies. Therefore, the task of the cluster is to build a model in which additive technologies become not just an innovation, but the basis for accelerated creation of new products and the development of related high—tech industries.

Personnel for the new industrialization

Alexander Mazhuga, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, Scientific Director of the Mendeleev Russian Technical Technical University, noted that projects such as the Angara-Yenisei cluster stimulate the formation of a new personnel architecture.

"Projects such as the Angara-Yenisei cluster stimulate the formation of a new personnel architecture. The government sets the task of creating complete sovereign chains in the field of rare and rare earth metals, which means that we must prepare specialists in advance who will design, launch and develop these chains: chemists, materials scientists, design and digital modeling specialists. Universities, scientific organizations and industry should work in a unified logic: educational programs should be shaped to meet the real challenges of the industry, laboratories and pilot sites should become part of the training of specialists, and regional universities should ensure the retention of personnel next to future industries. This is how the personnel base for the new industrialization and technological sovereignty of Russia is being formed," said Mazhuga.

One more look

Dmitry Lelikov, Deputy General Director of Rostec State Corporation, emphasized the importance of the Angara-Yenisei cluster as a mechanism capable of linking the process of scientific and industrial development with the practical needs of the high-tech industry.

"The high—tech sectors of the Russian economy need fully affordable domestic high-grade products - new materials, components, and end products. At the same time, for electronics, engine building, aviation, energy and instrument engineering, in addition to localization as such, stable quality, reproducible characteristics, serial number and reliability of supplies are important. The value of the Angara-Yenisei cluster lies in the fact that it can provide a real combination of raw materials, technologies and production capacities with the needs of end users and thus give businesses what they really need for development," said Lelikov.

The economics of the project

Products created within the Cluster's production chains must be cost-effective. At the same time, individual intermediates may turn out to be more expensive than the market level or create an additional burden on the cost of the final product. Therefore, one of the tasks of project management in a Cluster is to identify such parts of the chain in advance and, together with federal executive authorities, select mechanisms for balancing them. Various tools can be used for this purpose: tariff regulation, subsidies, tax and other benefits, the formation of strategic reserves, as well as other support measures. In addition, the Cluster will assist partners in adapting existing industrial development mechanisms to meet the challenges of launching new production facilities. These include special investment contracts, preferential treatment and other tools to reduce risks and increase the economic efficiency of projects.

Elena Bezdenezhnykh, Vice President of Rusal JSC, noted that the cluster model becomes a workable mechanism for industrial cooperation when it is integrated into the real economy and has clear conditions for long-term investments.

"The cluster model becomes a workable mechanism for industrial cooperation when it is integrated into the real economy and has clear conditions for long-term investments. Activities for the development of energy, industrial, transport and logistics infrastructure, the development of necessary regulatory solutions and the training of personnel in accordance with the needs of the created industrial and technological chains should be synchronized. The implemented model for building the Angara-Yenisei cluster, in my opinion, meets these requirements. Rusal has experience of effective work within the framework of cooperation between the state, science, education and business, and there is an intention to apply it to this project," said Elena Bezdenezhnykh, Vice President of Rusal JSC.

Importance for the State

For the state, the Angara-Yenisei cluster is a tool for the transition from a raw material model to a high—value economy. For industry, it is an opportunity to obtain critical materials and components within the country. For science, it is a long—term industrial order and a platform for the implementation of developments. This is a "window of opportunity" for the regions of Siberia to form a new economic specialization related not only to mining, but also to advanced technologies, engineering and the production of products of the future. Therefore, the importance of the project goes beyond the limits of one industry. It becomes part of the broader task of Russia's new industrialization, in which technological sovereignty is ensured not by individual solutions, but by an assembled system: resources, energy, science, personnel, industry, and territory.