The Russian government will allocate up to 10.46 billion rubles to subsidize a preferential loan for the construction of a lithium-ion battery plant by the company Innovative Energy Systems (INESIS). The corresponding order dated September 7 was discovered by The Insider.
The funds from the federal budget will go to Sberbank, which will be compensated for lost income on the preferential loan provided to INESIS for the construction of a plant with an annual capacity of 4 GWh. The full cost of construction has not been disclosed.
The subsidies are calculated over several years. In 2026, up to 491.9 million rubles are earmarked, in 2027 — 1.78 billion, in 2028 — 1.9 billion, with the maximum annual amount falling in 2029 at nearly 2 billion rubles. In total, subsidies could reach 10.461 billion rubles by 2034.
INESIS is closely tied to Russia's unmanned aviation industry: 85.81% of the company belongs to Transport of the Future LLC, which calls itself one of Russia's largest developers and manufacturers of unmanned aerial systems. Production lines for lithium-ion batteries for drones and other components are already operating at the company's facility in Tolyatti.
In January 2025, Vladimir Putin took part in the opening of a research and production center for unmanned aerial systems in Tolyatti, whose anchor resident is Transport of the Future. At the same time, an experimental production line for lithium-ion batteries with a capacity of 20 MWh per year was launched at INESIS. The new plant's capacity is expected to be roughly 200 times greater.
Transport of the Future officially positions its products primarily as civilian — the company produces agricultural drones, among other items. However, there is evidence that developments linked to it are used by the Russian military: Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that the Hector drone, produced by the subsidiary Drone-Service and marketed as agricultural, is used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
In May 2026, former Transport of the Future general director Yuri Kozarenko was arrested on charges of large-scale fraud. As The Insider previously reported, the criminal case is linked to the alleged theft of about 70 million rubles allocated for the execution of a state defense order for drone production.
The new plant will be one of the largest projects in Russia's emerging battery industry. As The Insider previously found, Russia is rapidly developing its own production of lithium-ion batteries, including those needed for FPV drones: imports of raw materials and components have grown severalfold, but the country remains dependent on foreign supplies. Rosatom has announced its intention to fully localize lithium-ion battery production by 2030.