The leading event at the 28th International Exhibition of the Chemical Industry and Science «Khimiya-2025» was the plenary session «Technological Leadership in the Chemical Industry: Challenges and Achievements.»

Speakers included:

• Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation,
• Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation,
• Igor Kobzev, Governor of the Irkutsk Region,
• Viktor Ivanov, President of the Russian Union of Chemists,
• Maria Vasilkova, Member of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade,
• Mikhail Karisalov, Chairman of the Management Board and General Director of «SIBUR» company,
• Stepan Kalmykov, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
• Mikhail Sutiaginskii, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AO GC «Titan»,
• Andrei Shevchenko, Director for Technological Development of the State Corporation «Rosatom»,
• Marina Bortova, Deputy General Director for Interaction with Federal Authorities of AO «Roskhim».

The moderator was Natalia Popova, First Deputy General Director of «Innopraktika» company.

The «Roshimreactiv» Association, represented by General Director Irina Vendilo, also participated in the event.

The main topic of the session was the implementation of the national project «New Materials and Chemistry», which has become the foundation for launching a new industrialization, developing scientific centers, training personnel, and creating the infrastructure of the future.

The session was dedicated to three main tasks:

1. Generating demand for Russian technologies and new materials in Russia and abroad, including increasing the output of higher value-added products and creating financial infrastructure for investment projects.
2. Technological leadership and stimulating breakthrough scientific developments.
3. Personnel support for the chemical industry.

In his opening remarks, Anton Alikhanov noted that over the past ten years, the volume of output in value terms has tripled. Domestic consumption has grown 3.3 times, and exports have increased 2.5 times.

According to the head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the main achievement in the chemical industry is the low share of imports. Currently, this figure is about 34%, but the ministry aims to reduce this volume to 30% by 2030. Furthermore, to implement the tasks of the national technological initiative «New Materials and Chemistry,» more than 130 new chemical productions need to be created over the next 5 years.

Anton Alikhanov emphasized that within this work, the ministry places special emphasis on small- and medium-tonnage chemistry to fully close the industry’s production cycle. He also noted that compared to 2020, output volumes in this segment have increased by more than 80% and amounted to up to 420 billion rubles by the end of last year.
The issue of personnel support for the industry received separate attention.

«Today we see steady growth in employment in the chemical industry. Over the past five years, the number of industry workers has increased by more than 100 thousand people. Over the horizon of the national project, we expect an additional demand for another 100 thousand specialists. We will need engineers, technologists, specialists in digital solutions,» said the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

He also noted that in 2025, work is planned to be completed on updating 10 network programs and 30 higher education programs, taking into account the needs of enterprises. Work is underway to improve the qualifications of university teachers: currently, 440 higher education teachers from 29 Russian universities are undergoing training.

Denis Sekirinsky, in his speech, highlighted the progress of implementing two federal projects overseen by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education within the national project «New Materials and Chemistry»: «Development of Critical High-Tech Technologies in the Field of New Materials and Chemistry» and «Advanced Training and Retraining of Qualified Personnel.»

«Already today we see concrete results: these are both new Russian technological solutions being created by science together with industry, and a system of training and retraining personnel for the country’s technological sovereignty,» Denis Sekirinsky noted in his speech.

The Deputy Minister also noted that over the past five years, the number of employees in the chemical sector has grown by almost 110 thousand people. Nevertheless, to implement the plans of the mentioned national project, the industry will require about another 100 thousand people.

«Undoubtedly, personnel is a bottleneck for any field, and for the chemical industry this is especially important. We see that the number of university graduates related to chemistry is increasing, but at the same time, a number of related industries are attracting personnel that the chemical industry would be glad to see.

The center (TSU CAPP – ed.) that Anton Andreevich spoke about, and a whole network of regional centers being created, set as their key goal very quick, operational adjustment and modification of programs according to industry interests: this is an excellent tool in addition to those that our universities are already implementing.»

Maria Vasilkova presented the concept of «Federal Industrial Development Centers» and emphasized that a key barrier to the development of cities playing an important role in strengthening the country’s technological sovereignty is the general state of the urban environment and infrastructure. At the same time, through territorial planning, it is possible to synchronize personnel, scientific, and infrastructure tasks, the solution of which determines the quality of technological leadership project implementation.

Participants of the plenary session also discussed other achievements and plans:

• This year, the Center for Advanced Personnel Training for the chemical industry was created on the basis of TSU, which, together with the Russian Ministry of Labor, is developing a model for forecasting personnel needs based on data from a nationwide employer survey;
• By the end of 2025, work is planned to be completed on updating 10 network educational programs and 30 higher education programs, taking into account the needs of chemical industry enterprises;
• Work is underway to improve the qualifications of university teachers.

The discussion at the panel session confirmed: Russia is forming its own school of industrial development, where people, territory, and technology unite for the future of the country.

As part of his work at the forum, Anton Alikhanov toured the exhibition space of «Khimia-2025». He was shown samples of advanced domestic laboratory equipment, mineral fertilizers, and developments in the field of small-tonnage chemistry. The Minister also visited the booth of the «Roshimreactiv» Association, where Irina Vendilo spoke about the products manufactured by our companies.