On April 9 through 11, the St. Petersburg based ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre hosted the Russian International Energy Forum powered by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Government of St. Petersburg. This extensive event was attended by 8,000 people from 11 countries, including China, Iran, India, Belarus, Republic of Korea, and Kazakhstan. 140 companies showcased their projects and services at the Forum exposition, and 490 delegates took part in the convention program. 700+ business meetings were accomplished in the Business Matchmaking Centre.
The gala opening ceremony of the Forum was attended by Sergey Kropachev – Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, Daniil Krainsky – Deputy CEO of Rosseti, Dmitry Nikitin – CEO of RESTEC Exhibition Company, and Sergey Voronkov – CEO of ExpoForum International and President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs.
Sergey Kropachev addressed the Forum participants on behalf of Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg, who accented the Forum’s significance as an irreplaceable venue for demonstration of cutting-edge initiatives and projects. The Governor specified that the energy sector of the Northern Capital of Russia has an essential role in reinforcement of the country’s science and technology potential. It is not by chance that year after year, St. Petersburg has been verifying its leadership in lean production and resource provision enhancement.
Daniil Krainsky reported that the Russian energy sector demonstrated a growth of over 5 percent, which provided evidence of the country’s economy development and the energy sector becoming a driver of improvement. As Sergey Voronkov took the stand, he distinguished unicity of the energy sector of St. Petersburg, putting special emphasis on its historical roots and today’s achievements.
St. Petersburg is not just a gas capital of Russia and the homeland of the first gas street lamp. It is also the energy capital where the biggest power companies are located. Moreover, it is where arc welding was invented. All the topics brought up at RIEF are directly related to St. Petersburg, including electric energy independence provisions, reliability and safety of energy systems, welding matters, corrosion protection, and comfortable environment arrangements. All the meetings at the Forum will be full of both business content and informal communications, Mr. Voronkov said.
One of the key events of the RIEF 2025 welcome ceremony was the presentation of the historic exposition ENERGY OF VICTORY. RESTORATION, which was dedicated to the energy industry of Leningrad in the years of the Great Patriotic War during the World War II. Petr Tishchenko, Chairman of the Archive Committee of St. Petersburg, and Faina Nedbay, Director of the Central State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation of St. Petersburg, greeted the audience and briefly informed them about the exhibits presented at the Forum Exposition. In general, the topic of the exposition was explored by means of three major media, which were propaganda posters, biographies of people who were behind the city’s restoration, and unique documents that told the story about the heroic deeds of the Leningrad energy engineers who recovered the power infrastructure of the city and its region.
The Power & Electrical Engineering International Exhibition brought together leading Russian manufacturers and became a place to show the most recent industrial projects. At their stand, Rosatom Smart Utilities demonstrated software products of their own design. Visitors were able to appreciate their Digital Resource Supply IT solution made to ensure smooth digital transformation for resource suppliers. This product can reduce losses and emergency rates thanks to smart data analysis, as well as promptly detect and eliminate non-routine events. INGC, a Moscow-based manufacturer of compressor and power equipment, presented a prototype of their 2 MW radial gas turbine engine. SEVER Krasnoyarsk Amphibious Transport Plant invited the audience’s attention with their assortment of special vehicles that can overcome all kinds of obstacles and be operated in challenging climates. PIK PROGRESS, the Russian supplier of system solutions, demonstrated their INTEGRAL 325 — software that covers accounting, telemechanics and automated control of technological data at once. Incomsystem Research-Engineering Center presented their solutions designed to enhance production procedures and resource accounting, whereas Radar MMS Research and Production Enterprise brought a new module for cable lines monitoring. Rosseti Lenenergo had an interactive site arranged with equipment for user disconnection in case of overpowering. Scientific Research Institute for Optoelectronic Instrument Engineering showed their assortment of devices for technical monitoring and malfunction diagnostics in industrial-grade equipment. Spetskabel Plant had the audience amazed with their optic fibre cables, including the world’s finest aircraft optic cable that can be used in different industrial sectors. RADIUS Avtomatika exhibited their latest relay and automation devices, an upgrade for their classical SIRIUS series, and also their Sirius BAVR high-speed automatic reserve input device. PromMash Test came to consult specialists on the matters of certification in regard of industrial equipment, expert assessment in the field of industrial safety and laboratory tests. Parus Electro brought their assortment of gel lead-acid cells of various sizes and capacities. ProfKiP gave the visitors a chance to have a closer look at a wide range of measuring tools, all of them recorded in the State Register of Measuring Equipment. RIVE-IMPORT, a Russian importer of China-made equipment, showcased the most advanced backup power systems – COWAY, JIEYO, and NOVCELL, all of them intended for country houses, commercial facilities, and industrial companies.
The specialised exhibition INTEGRATED PROTECTION SYSTEMS FOR FUEL AND ENERGY FACILITIES took place during RIEF for the first time ever. Its participants demonstrated the most state-of-the-art technologies designed to protect energy sites of critical importance from UAVs and unauthorized access.
The pinnacle of the RIEF 2025 convention program was METROPOLITAN CITY’ ENERGY: HOW TO COMPLY WITH CONSUMERS’ HIGH EXPECTATIONS Panel Session. The participants talked about the impact of the fuel and energy sector on development of the urban infrastructure, and moreover, they shared their practical experience during the discussion of up-to-date technologies and innovations that the largest cities can use. The session was participated by officials of Rosseti Lenenergo, Fuel and Energy Complex of St. Petersburg, Vodokanal of St. Petersburg, Lensvet, and St. Petersburg Energy Saving Centre. Kirill Smirnov, CEO of Petrocenter Information Publishing Centre of St. Petersburg Government — moderated the event.
During the conference RELIABLE ENERGY AND HEAT SUPPLY TO REMOTE AND HARD-TO-REACH AREAS IN FAR NORTH AND THE ARCTIC REGION, the participants talked over the issues associated with energy safety management in the challenging climatic environment of the Far North, implementation of investment projects as regards to local energy sectors, import substitution, and technological independence.
GENERAL SCHEME – 2042: HOW TO BALANCE NEEDS OF THE ENERGY INDUSTRY WITH CAPACITIES OFFERED BY THE ECOMONICS SECTOR Conference became a place to consider the long-term development plan for the industry that covered the period up to the year of 2042.
A practice-oriented SUPPLIER DAY was arranged by TEK Torg as part of RIEF – there, the experts shared how one can become a leader in electric energy. In fact, this event was based on a direct dialogue with the customers, but they also demonstrated some practical tools for sales increase there. Another exciting thing that was presented during this event was the company’s new project for digitalization of relevant standards of the electric energy sector.
The Forum participants were invited to join the technical tour to the first Russian station with a steam and gas binary cycle – the North-Western Heat and Power Station operated by Inter RAO – Power Generation. There, they were demonstrated contemporary energy production technologies that ensure both high efficiency and environmental friendliness.
Over 700 business meetings attended by suppliers and customers were accomplished in the Business Matchmaking Centre. These meetings were attended by representatives of Power Machines, Rosseti North-West, United Information and Accounting Centre of St. Petersburg, Fuel and Energy Complex of St. Petersburg, and other industrial companies.
Some other major industrial projects took place in ExpoForum at the same time with RIEF 2025, namely the Corrosion Protection International Exhibition & Congress, the Municipal Housing Complex of Russia International Exhibition, and the Svarka/Welding International Exhibition. Several events held in one place at the same time helped bring together as many specialists from different industries and provided extra opportunities for experience sharing and business matchmaking.
The Forum program was participated by the leading associations and the key players of the industry, which were the Scientific and Technical Council of Unified Energy System, the Association of Guaranteed Suppliers and Energy Service Companies, the Energy Consumers Association, RUSSOFT, Digital Energy Association, INGC, National Agency of Energy Saving and Renewable Energy, and others.
General information partner of the event – Power and Industry of Russia Newspaper. General industrial information partner – Neftegaz.ru online portal. Official information partner – Elec.ru electro-technical web-portal. Official industrial information partner – Energy Policy public and business academic magazine. Strategic information partner – Camelot Publishing. Special information partner – ELECTRIC POWER. Transmission and Distribution Journal. Publisher of the Show Daily official newspaper – United Industrial Publishers.
RIEF 2025 organiser – ExpoForum International. Coorganisers of the Exhibition program – RESTEC Exhibition Company and BIZON Exhibition Companies Group.