Academician Mikhail Predtechenskiy, Academician Dmitriy Markovich and Professor Vladimir Meledin, all scientists at the Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, are laureates of the 2019 Russian Federation State Prize for outstanding scientific and technological achievement. The prize was awarded for the scientific justification for new methods of diagnosing and controlling non-equilibrium systems and for the establishment of a global industry of single wall carbon nanotubes.
Scientists at the Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences had been conducting fundamental and applied studies of physical non-equilibrium systems of molecular clusters for many years. Those studies later formed the basis for the globally unique and large-scale technology of industrial synthesis of single wall carbon nanotubes, which are also known as graphene nanotubes. The technology was invented by Academician Mikhail Predtechenskiy and then implemented on an industrial scale after the establishment of OCSiAl.
Nowadays, OCSiAl is a major producer of graphene nanotubes and has synthesized more than 90% of the global stock of this unprecedented material. The OCSiAl customer network now covers more than 600 companies globally that buy the company’s TUBALL™ brand nanotubes, and this network continues to expand rapidly.
OCSiAl is an intercontinental company with offices, partners and distributors in 45 countries. The R&D and production of OCSiAl are based in Novosibirsk, which also houses the company’s TUBALL CENTER, a unique scientific and technological platform for developing new technologies for incorporating nanotubes into materials, as well as for producing and testing pilot batches of these enhanced materials. OCSiAl employs over 450 people in 16 countries worldwide, with more than 100 of these employees being scientists focusing on R&D.
By early 2020, the share capital of OCSiAl reached $1.5 billion, according to the estimates of external investors. As a result, renowned western experts have recognized OCSiAl as a unicorn company and have acknowledged its membership in the Global Unicorn Club.
The annual Russian Federation State Prize for outstanding scientific and technological achievement symbolizes the high regard of the country’s leaders for the innovative developments of Russian scientists. It is significant that the carbon nanotube synthesis technology invented by Academician Mikhail Predtechenskiy has now been implemented in practice on an industrial scale. Never before in the long history of this state award have its laureates been representatives of a private company with international achievements in a field that extends beyond the base materials sector of the economy.