News from the business location Austria
Virtual Vehicle: Competence center for digital vehicles
The digital transformation of vehicles is the focal point of the EUR 48 million COMET research program entitled “K2 Digital Mobility”, which will be launched in 2018 at the Graz-based research center “Virtual Vehicle” and will be supported by a strong international network. About 50 industrial partners are on board, including AVL List, Magna, Siemens, Infineon, NXP and the American chip producer NVIDIA.
Industry 4.0 know-how for France
The research-intensive company nxtControl based in Lower Austria was integrated into the French electronics group Schneider Electric at the end of June. nxtControl, global technology leader in the field of control systems in accordance with the IEC61499 and IEC61131 standards, is currently participating in six EU projects.
Smartfactory – Pilot plant Industry 4.0
The “smartfactory@tugraz" will be home to the new pilot plant for Industry 4.0 on the premises of the Graz University of Technology. There companies and universities can test and research into new production techniques related to digitalized industry. The Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology along with industrial companies and the Graz University of Technology are investing a total of approx. EUR 6.4 million. The focus is on production methods enabling the profitable manufacturing of small quantities.
easyJet to set up European headquarters in Vienna
easyJet has announced to establish a new airline „easyJet Europe“ which will be headquartered in Vienna to continue flying across the Continent after Brexit.
Xing purchases Austrian startup Prescreen
The German business network Xing has acquired the Vienna-based startup Prescreen. The basic purchase price is EUR 17 million. However, the final cost of acquisition could increase by EUR 5-10 million if specified targets are achieved by the year 2020.
University of Vienna: On the path to individual tumor therapies
For many years researchers have been trying to identify molecular target structures of metalliferous substances to combat cancer in order to be able to more effectively assess the mechanisms of action as well as individual risk factors.
New ESA satellite comes from Austria
The Graz University of Technology is collaborating with the company RUAG Space to build a new micro satellite for the European Space Agency (ESA).
Environmental protection as a growth driver: IBIDEN Porzellanfabrik Frauenthal receives multi-million euro orders from India and China
IBIDEN Porzellanfabrik Frauenthal GmbH (IPF), the specialist for ceramic catalysts and heat storage media from Frauental in West Styria, succeeded in winning orders from the Chinese and Indian automobile market with an annual volume of € 20-30 million. Environmental protection is the driving force behind this success story of the hidden champion in the automobile industry.
piur imaging to sign the grant agreement for a EUR 2.1 m Horizon 2020 grant
Collaborating with four partners, piur imaging will develop the 2nd generation of PIUR tUS. This is a new device for tomographic 3D ultrasound allowing safe and more cost effective vascular diagnosis and treatment planning.
Audi establishes center for artificial intelligence in Austria
Audi and the Johannes Kepler University of Linz (JKU) will carry out joint research into the intelligent car of the future. For this purpose, the university and the brand with the Four Rings have established the “Audi.JKU deep learning center” in Linz.
Swiss pharma giant Roche buys Viennese diabetes app mySugr
It’s a big deal indeed for the Austrian startup scene: The Viennese life science startup mySugr was bought by Roche Diabetics Care. The subsidiary of the Swiss pharma giant F. Hofmann-La Roche AG now owns 100 percent of mySugr and intends to use the digital services of the company to advance their own digital strategy on the diabetes market.
Parliament Approves Employment Bonus for New Jobs
Accordingly, starting on July 1, 2017, companies are entitled to apply for a refund of 50% of non-wage labor costs (so-called employer social security contributions) for each newly created job over a period of up to three years.
Austria Increases Research Tax Credit to 14 Percent
As stipulated in the government program for 2017/18, the Austrian Parliament approved an increase in the research tax credit by an additional two percent effective January 1, 2018.
Austria on the verge of entering the top ranks of innovators: European Innovation Scoreboard 2017 shows leap to 7th place
“Austria is on the verge of entering the top ranks in Europe with respect to innovation. In only two years, we improved from 11th to 7th place, which is the second best results every achieved in the history of the European Innovation Scorecard. This shows that we are on the path to success, and that our measures and projects such as increasing R&D investments or our open innovation strategy are beginning to have an impact”, says Harald Mahrer, Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy, commenting on the European Innovation Scorecard 2017 published by the European Commission.
Data glasses let deaf people “hear“ again
Thanks to a special software, people who are deaf can read the words of their conversation partner in a text displayed in the glasses. Without aids, deaf people can frequently only communicate in a limited way through sign language or by reading lips.
Bell Food Group invests EUR 30 million a new product plant in Upper Austria
In Upper Austria, a new production plant for convenience products will create jobs for about 100 employees.
ZKW given the European-wide R&D Performance Award 2017
The winners for the best agile performance were announced at a gala ceremony within the context of the R&D Manager Forum conference held in Munich. Companies whose agile performance increased the most were honored.
RBI launches Fintech Accelerator „Elevator Lab“
On 1 June 2017, Johann Strobl, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI), launched RBI’s new fintech accelerator program called “Elevator Lab” during the founder and technology festival “Pioneers’17” at the Viennese Imperial Palace.
Increase in research expenditures
“We are endowing the National Foundation with more funds than ever before. We will invest a total of EUR 420 million in our excellent research landscape by 2020. These funds will make an important contribution to our efforts to further push ahead in the group of innovation leaders”, said Harald Mahrer, Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy, on the occasion of an amendment to the FTE National Foundation Act approved by the Council of Ministers.
Austrian robots examine oil drilling platforms
Last week the Viennese company taurob, together with its research partner, the Darmstadt University of Technology, was announced as the winner of the ARGOS Challenge, the robotics competition sponsored by the multinational oil and gas company Total S.A.
Biochips for wound healing
Complex biology and chip technology have been combined at the Vienna University of Technology. This enables customized, personalized medicine on the smallest spaces. For the first time, a chip for wound healing measurement will be introduced publicly to an international expert audience at the exhibition “Labvolution”.
Starting signal for four innovation labs
“Innovation has to take place in the regions. For this reason, we are investing EUR 3million to build up four innovation labs in Austria. This will enable us to create space for new ideas, expand access to innovation and link different players in the research sector”, says Harald Mahrer, Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy.
BMW Group Continues to Invest in Business Location Austria
The BMW Group plant in Steyr will be further expanded by 2021 through three large-scale projects totaling more than EUR 340 million.
Vienna as a congress location once again placed in the top ranks of the recently published statistics
Vienna as a congress location once again placed in the top ranks of the recently published statistics of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in 2016, and was ranked second in the world.
Montanuniversität Leoben: Partnership with LUKOIL
LUKOIL Engineering and the university Montanuniversität Leoben will join forces in the future. Numerous projects will be launched effective immediately within the context of a close collaboration. The aim is to cooperate in science and research in the field of oil exploration and to ensure an intensive exchange of information.
Resistant germs: researchers from Graz and London decode gene transfer among bacteria
The rapidly growing number of strains of bacteria around the world which remain unaffected by antibiotics poses a major challenge to the fields of medicine and research.
Dentsu Aegis takes over media.at
The sale of media.at initiated in March 2016 has entered its final phase. An agreement was signed for the 100% acquisition of the media.at Group by the Dentsu Aegis Group.
Planet motor: Vienna University of Technology presents innovative electric drive system
The electric motor is a tried-and-tested concept. This, however, does not mean that there is no more room for revolutionary improvements.
Tyrolean startup focus on innovative light-heat paneling
The Tyrolean company HL Innovation has launched "CoPAN”, a new type of panel already patented in Austria, on the market
Austrian research expenditures expected to rise 3.8% to EUR 11.33 billion
Investments for research and development (R&D) in Austria are expected to rise to the record level of EUR 11.3 billion in 2017, comprising an R&D quota of 3.14% according to Statistics Austria. In line with the latest forecast, the share of public financing will climb more than 5% to EUR 4.08 billion.
