Anton Alikhanov outlined priorities for chemical industry development

Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, took part in a meeting of the Chemical Industry and Bioeconomics Subcommittee of the Government Commission on Industry and in the Plenary Session on Chemistry as the Energy of Life: Development Through Cooperation, which took place within Khimia 2026.

At the subcommittee’s meeting, the minister said that over the two years of the national project's implementation, 52 projects with private and public investments of over 2 trillion rubles had received state support. He also noted the importance of forming the country’s own technological and human resources base.

“In two years, we have supported 30 competence centers in most of the chemical chains of the national project, which is 13.2 billion rubles, and 18 of the 23 chains have already been covered," said Anton Alikhanov.

The expert support is provided by Kurchatov Institute and the updated Scientific and Technical Council with the participation of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Ten engineering development centers have been established. The topics for 2027 cover areas from medical polymers to components for lithium-ion batteries. Having a real customer is a mandatory requirement. The minister also pointed out that engineering development centers form the human resource of the industry, and the need for trained professionals will increase as new production facilities are introduced.

During the plenary session, Anton Alikhanov noted that over the past decade, the chemical industry has increased shipments by 2.5 times, exceeding 9 trillion rubles. This is about 11% of the output of the manufacturing industry with 1.7% of GDP, 26 thousand enterprises, and over 730 thousand employees.

“The chemical industry is a leader in supplies to foreign markets, providing a fifth of non-primary non-energy exports. Last year, sales of Russian chemical products on the global market reached more than 32 billion dollars, of which 15.2 billion accounted for mineral fertilizers. The weight and volume of consumption in the economy determine the capital-intensive nature of the industry. Since 2022, chemical enterprises have allocated more than 4.8 trillion rubles for development. A significant role in investment activity was played by system-wide state support measures, including SPICs, a cluster investment platform, preferential loans from the Industrial Development Fund, and subsidizing R&D,” said the minister.

He also noted qualitative changes. Previously, the industry was based on the basic products of the first processing, but now high-tech polymers, catalysts and materials for radio electronics are being produced. In a number of areas the industry has switched from import to export.

The minister also outlined areas in which new investment projects are expected. They include phosphorus, methanol, fluorochemistry, radio electronics and energy storage. These chains have a raw material base, competencies and demand, and the ministry, in its turn, is ready to work out support measures.

Regarding regulation, Anton Alikhanov recalled that in June the national technical regulation on the safety of chemical products was approved, covering about 85 thousand substances. Work on the recognition of Russian approaches at the EAEU level will continue, which will make it possible to exclude the import of unsafe products through neighboring countries.

Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Viktor Ivanov, President of the Russian Chemists Union, and other experts also spoke at the plenary session.

In his speech, Sergey Katyrin congratulated the participants on the opening of Khimia 2026 and noted that this event is one of the oldest trade shows in Russia. Its first edition took place in 1965. The chamber’s head thanked the Russian Chemists Union and other organisations for supporting the show, as well as foreign visitors who responded to the invitation.

“We have more than four hundred companies represented today. More than half of them are Russian companies. We have foreign colleagues to whom we are grateful for responding to the invitation and coming to this show,” said Sergey Katyrin, wishing the participants successful work.

In his official greeting, the head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry emphasized the importance of the chemical industry for technological sovereignty and the development of the country's economy. He noted that the show brings together Russian and foreign companies, research institutions, equipment manufacturers, and consumers of chemical products, helping them to find partners and launch joint projects.

Speaking at the session, Sergey Katyrin also touched upon the work of chambers of commerce and industry to confirm the production of industrial products in the territory of the Russian Federation. According to him, the register of Russian industrial products includes more than 46 thousand units of 1.3 thousand chemical industry enterprises.

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO

Source: the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry