Iran's Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology has announced that 196 innovative projects have been implemented since the new government took office in August.
Speaking to reporters, Vice President Sorena Sattari said the projects are all designed with the assistance of local knowledge-based ecosystem to fill technological gaps in the country's conventional or less-developed sectors.
In addition to the projects underway, Sattari stated that 15 new plans have recently been approved by tech experts and will soon invite investments across the country.
“Contracts between knowledge-based teams and larger industrial units have led to these projects, the foundation for which was laid by weekly startup events, bootcamps, industrial gatherings, webinars and 23 thematic tech events held with the support of the vice presidential office and its affiliate, Iran National Innovation Fund,” he added.
The official noted that these projects cover many fields, including water and wastewater treatment, agriculture, greenhouse farming, automobile production, metal industries and health.
Elaborating on one such project, Sattari said preliminary studies and detection of deepwater wells have been completed in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, resulting in the drilling and extraction of water from a 1,800-meter water well with a midway pump with a discharge capacity of 40 liters per second.
Groundwater resource exploration, detection of water springs in coastal areas, measuring watershed level, topographical surveys, development of state-of-the-art water treatment and desalination processes, optimization of water distribution in buildings, developing small- and large-scale modern greenhouses, as well as reduction of soil salinity and degradation in farmlands are among other water-related plans underway.
According to Sattari, a number of tech firms are working on upgrading public buses to reduce their fuel consumption by 50% and gas emissions by 25%.
"Knowledge-based firms are adapting Iran Khodro Company's Tara electric sedan for metropolitan taxi fleet operation. This initiative is estimated to reduce the fleets’ fuel consumption by 30%,” he said.
“Indigenization of technologies required for the production of electric heavy-duty vehicles engines is also underway in the automotive sector.”
Medicine and Health
Sattari declared that PerkinRA, a locally-made medicine for children’s rheumatoid arthritis, has been developed by Persisgen Company. A new Covid-19 vaccine, called SpikoGen, has also been produced by private tech units, which will enter mass production phase after it passes laboratory and clinical tests.
SpikoGen is a Messenger RNA (mRNA) Covid-19 vaccine that prods human cells to make a protein for triggering an immune response.
Sepanta Mehr Company and the Industrialization Center for Applied Nanotechnology have jointly developed a nanotech substance that can suppress viruses, germs and fungi when applied to fabrics. The material can be used to cover a wide range of coverings, including facemasks, surgical gowns, hospital bedsheets, furniture, rugs and even air-conditioning filters.
The vice president noted that the development of several other vaccines for livestock, poultry and aquatic animals and the production of enriched feed for domesticated animals, eco-friendly pesticides and fertilizers are other innovative projects underway.
Sattari stated that the vice presidential office and its affiliated tech funds have invested heavily in the growth of the technology ecosystem to increase its share of GDP and reduce the country's reliance on foreign resources.
Officials believe that the assistance has already paid off, as knowledge-based companies have made significant achievements in a variety of fields, helping the country bypass damaging US sanctions and international constraints.
INIF Support
Iran National Innovation Fund, affiliated with the vice presidential office, plans to pay 100 trillion rials ($339 million) in loans to fledgling technology firms through the banking system by March 2022.
According to INIF CEO Ali Vahdat, the amount of allocation has increased from 30 trillion rials ($101.6 million) in 2019-20 to 50 trillion rials ($169.5 million) in 2020-21.
This year’s budget is 100% higher than the cumulative loans paid out last year.
In an earlier meeting with Bank Saderat Iran CEO Hojjatollah Seydi, Vahdat presented an overview of the fund’s total capital outlay for the current year.
“The government plans to inject 10 trillion rials [$33.8 million] into the fund's coffers in the coming months, as per the 2021-22 budget bill. An additional $200 million are supposed to be transferred to INIF from the National Development Fund, the sovereign wealth fund,” he said.
“The banking system will assist the institution by continuing to offer aid packages to budding tech firms before the two sources send funds to INIF.”
Four local banks, namely Bank Saderat Iran, Bank Tejarat, Bank Mellat and Bank Ayandeh, will extend the loans.
Vahdat noted that Bank Saderat's share would amount to 3 trillion rials ($10.1 million).
Seydi stated that his bank is ready to extend its share of the loan and hoped that the seed capital will be of assistance to new entrepreneurs and tech companies.
“The bank plans to reduce the loan application process for Tehran-based applicants to seven days and other cities to 30 days, if all necessary documents are submitted with their application,” he added.
To relieve the burden on businesses, Seydi said the financial aid would be paid without any interest.
