Technopark “Idea” assisted a 17-years old student – Bulat Galiullin, Kazan resident of Skolkovo, in filing an application for participation in the Program “Start” of the Fund for the Promotion of the Development of Small Businesses in the Scientific and Technical Sphere (the Bortnik’s Fund). Start-up of low-conductivity coat has a chance to become the energy-efficient materials production.
Liquid heat-insulation, often named by ceramic insulation or superfine insulation, is meant for coating deposition on any surfaces, has insulating, sound-proofing, water-proofing and anti-corrosion properties of wide range of applications. These low-conductivity coats were first developed by NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration (USA)), as surface isolators for space “Shuttle”. Successful space tests made it possible to apply it widely in the following in construction, industry, domestic and other fields. Liquid heat-insulation is mostly used as heat-insulating material of steam, hot water and water heating piping for coating: boiler equipment; enclosing structures, ceilings, walls and roofs of residential, public and industrial buildings of both types: new buildings and renovations (interior and exterior as well).
The idea to develop its own heat-insulating paint came into the student’s head during repairing the gymnasium No.7 and coloring it with a paint of “Volgograd Innovation Resource Center”. It is all started with a school project on energy efficiency, in the course of which Bulat with his classmates, on their own gymnasium example, calculated the economic benefit of the replacement of typical lamp by energy-saving lamp, installation of PVC windows and heat supply control devices. Interest in energy efficiency matters resulted in such narrow specialization as energy-efficient coatings. He developed the paint in a school laboratory with the aid of research supervisor – Igor Fedorov, Dean of pre-university training faculty of Kazan State Technical University named by A.N. Tupolev, and Nadezhda Ionycheva, the gymnasium physics teacher. New coating was tested on the typical kettle that turned into a thermos.
The Project “Energy efficiency due to development of composite insulation coating based on produced in Russia binding substances (polymers and elastomers), as well as fillers in the form of hollow microspheres” was demonstrated to Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Economic Development of Russia during her visit to Kazan in the early December, 2010. The decision to participate in the innovative forum “Russia, forward!” in Skolkovo was also made on the same occasion. More than 2.5 thousand applicants presented their projects on the forum, and only 16 of them were selected by the expert commission of the Fund “Skolkovo”, including the project of Kazan students. The Certificate of Skolkovo resident involves a number of preferences: project and research activity can be developed further, not paying VAT, property and profit taxes. In addition, resident companies will be reimbursed for customs clearance charges.
Following the Skolkovo, there were meetings in the Bortnik’s Fund and application for participation in the Program “Start”. The aim of this Program – state support of small-sized innovative companies, seeking to develop and master the production of new goods, products, technology or services with results of their scientific researches at the initial stage of development and with a great potential for commercialization. The initial stage of development means that small-sized company is in business no more than 2 years and has not yet started sales of products. The 
Program is scheduled for three years - stages. Initial financing is provided for Research and Development (R&D), which allows the Company to take out a considerable part of risks of potential investors. Adoption of the second stage of financing means that Research and Development are also performed on a competitive basis. A principle criterion for selection of the second-stage project is an attraction of financial resources for project implementation from non-budgetary sources, that is, there are two courses of action: either the Fund so-finance the project with non-budgetary investor (option to entice non-budgetary investors) or so-finance the project with the enterprise (option to self-development). The second option relates to the situation where the enterprise has not found an investor or considers the development by attracting the investor’s fund as inappropriate, but during the year managed to launch their products.
Student, engrossed in physics, is going to enter Kazan State Technical University named by A.N. Tupolev. He is planning to develop further his theme of energy efficiency, even if his application will not be supported by the Bortnik’s Fund. Student has the desire to elaborate something new in energy efficiency. It is so valuable, when you can create something useful with own hands.