Innovative technologies of the company «CERS», engaged in the development of LED lighting equipment and which recently became a resident of the Zelenograd Special Economic Zone (SEZ), is the subject of the article “Saving on the Sweetheart”, published in Vedomosti.
The article describes the history of the company’s formation since 2005, when, on the basis of an existing laboratory and design bureau, a holding company was created, engaged in high-tech production in the field of energy-saving technologies, R&D and engineering.
The company develops lamps based on LEDs in the southern regions of Russia, and has achieved significant success in this: “In 2006, we were the first in the world to equip an entire street with LEDs as a gift to the city of Azov.
The introduction of new technologies everywhere encounters an bureaucratic barrier. And by making a gift to the city, we we are creating a kind of “center of indignation”, after which it is more difficult to ignore us,” the founder of the holding, Yuri Osipenko, revealed the secret of promotion.
Today, CERS is one of the main players in its market sector; its lamps are now being tested at Mosgorsvet facilities and at pilot facilities of Russian Railways — for example, they are already lighting the platform of the Leningradsky Station in Moscow.
Experts recognize that LED lighting belongs to the future, and after 2010 these energy-saving lamps will begin to replace conventional incandescent light bulbs. “The main driver of industry development will be the replacement of traditional light sources with LED lamps, which are superior to traditional ones in energy saving and service life. This will happen most dynamically in the street lighting segments, as well as housing and communal services, commercial buildings and industrial facilities,” Vedomosti quotes. review from experts of the Rusnano Group of Companies.
“Due to savings on operation, our lamp pays for itself in three years, having a resource of 20 years or more,” says Osipenko. “An LED increases the cost of a light spot (lighting support) by about 15%. But as the technology develops, it will become cheaper.”
Now the CERS company is striving to receive government support in the implementation of its projects, first of all, in their implementation, including overcoming the administrative inertia of the state apparatus, as well as in strategic investment. “It is difficult to promote a project that pays for itself within 2-3 years, even if the economic benefits then amount to millions.
A mid-level official frankly says that he is not interested in this, since the project has no operating costs that could be written off,” — say the participants of this market. “The company has unique developments and a competent, ambitious team. The return on investment in the project is attractive; according to conservative estimates, they plan to reach a sales volume of about $80 million within four years,” this is how investment experts assess CERS.
In the near future, CERS is preparing to move to Zelenograd and expand scientific work, attracting specialists from all over the world: “We are negotiating with the Rusnano Group on the preparation and joint production of nanochips for LEDs. If the project takes place, we will be able to return some former Soviet scientists,” Yuri Osipenko told the publication.
Zelenograd.ru talked with the General Director of the CERS Innovation Company Sergei Ivanovich Sumin about the immediate and long-term plans for the company’s activities and development in Zelenograd.
— Is CERS going to present some kind of urban lighting project in Zelenograd, as in other cities?
— Yes, we are planning it. And moreover, we plan to participate in lighting the territories of special economic zones, including Zelenograd. At the beginning of next year we will hold negotiations with the Zelenograd administration on this topic, and at the same time we will discuss the possibility of implementing some kind of presentation pilot project for lighting city streets.
I think that in 2009 we will already install some kind of large enough lighting system for the city so that both residents and the administration can evaluate its efficiency and quality — after all, LED lamps are incommensurate with incandescent lamps in terms of brightness and energy saving. In addition, this will enhance road safety, since LED lighting is brighter while consuming 3 times less power. The savings on a city scale will be enormous.
— Do you have such projects in Moscow?
— Yes, but local. There is a strong “lamp” lobby in Moscow, so our Moscow projects are so far associated only with private commercial companies — they recognize the opportunity to save energy and money to pay for it before state employees and the administration.
Our lighting was implemented, for example, in the Kutuzovskaya Riviera residential complex. We hope to begin reaching other administrative districts of the capital through Zelenograd, as a Moscow region.
— Tell us where and how lighting with lamps from CERS has already been implemented at the Leningradsky Station? After all, many Zelenograd residents travel to the capital every day by train, and can already notice LEDs in action.
— At the Leningradsky station, the platform lighting systems are being re-equipped — replacing lamp ones with LED ones. Our company is a strategic partner of JSC Russian Railways; as part of this, a number of stations are already being re-equipped with our lamps — the first was Leningradsky, the platforms of long-distance trains.
— On what scale does CERS plan to operate in Zelenograd — office, representative office, design bureau, production space? When and how many jobs are expected to be created?
— We have just received the documents of a resident of the Zelenograd SEZ. While construction is underway on the territory of the SEZ in Alabushevo, until the necessary buildings are put into operation, we will work from the Moscow representative office. Our main production facilities are located in Rostov-on-Don (CERS is a subsidiary of the Rostov company Notis).
In Zelenograd we plan to locate a research and design bureau that will deal with new programs, including within the framework of the Rusnanotechnologies project, as well as pilot production. According to our business plan, we will have about 250 jobs in Zelenograd, and the full launch of the enterprise is scheduled for the end of 2012.
We will attract personnel mainly from among Zelenograd residents and residents of nearby areas; from the existing specialists we will bring, perhaps, only a few leading engineers; We also want to attract several American engineers to work with us. To attract employees, we will, of course, cooperate with MIET, which trains young engineers.
The technologies we are developing are very promising; LEDs have just begun to enter the market, replacing lamp lighting.
Experts predict an annual 100% increase in this market, regardless of any economic crises. Now our company occupies 70% of the Russian LED street lighting market, but it is still very small. All our new developments will be presented in the Zelenograd SEZ, and projects for the introduction of street lighting will certainly be tested on the streets of Zelenograd.