MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's nuclear industry needs at least $1.5 billion a year for innovation, the country's top civilian nuclear official said Tuesday.
Speaking at an innovation forum in Moscow, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's Federal Agency for Nuclear Power, said: "We should annually raise at least 40 billion rubles for the support and development of innovative technologies in Russia's nuclear industry."
The current funding amounts to just 8-10 billion rubles ($296-$370mln), he said.
Kiriyenko said the current forum showcased the huge innovative potential of the nuclear industry, but at the same time evoked conflicting emotions because many projects failed to reach the commercial stage.
He called for infrastructure to be developed to allow innovations to be used in business.
