Fact Sheet
Research Location Austria
Dynamic innovative strength in the center of Europe
January 2012 – Austria is increasingly establishing itself within Europe as a soughtafter research location for future industries such as life sciences, environment and
energy, information and communication technologies (ICT) or mobility and traffic. In
2011, the Alpine Republic boasted an R&D/GDP ratio of 2.79 percent1 which is
significantly higher than the EU average. For the first time, total R&D expenditures will
surpass the threshold of EUR 8 billion. Foreign-controlled companies account for
more than half of total corporate research and development expenditures,
corresponding to a volume of EUR 2.646 billion2. What exactly do these firms benefit
from? They take advantage of attractive funding and a research premium of ten
percent for companies based in Austria, as well as a business-friendly tax system, the
bundled know-how of international experts as well as the strong links of the business
and scientific communities.
Eight good reasons for selecting Austria as a research location
1. High R&D/GDP ratio
For more than ten years Austria has continually
increased its ratio of research and development
expenditures to GDP (R&D/GDP ratio), from a level
of 1.8 percent in the year 1998 to 2.79 percent in
2011. This spending exceeds the comparable
average for the EU-27, the OECD member
countries, and since 2009 also the USA3. The
dynamic impetus of innovative strength is also
shown in the clearly-defined goal for 2020: a further
1
Statistics Austria, press release dated April 19, 2011
Statistics Austria, Statistics on Foreign Business Entities, compiled on Sept,. 30, 2011
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http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=de&pcode=tsc00001&plugin=1
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increase in the R&D/GDP ratio to 3.76 percent4 – considerably above the R&D investment
volume of three percent of GDP which has been defined by the EU in its growth strategy
Europe 2020. Austria is highly motivated for one clear-cut reason: only those who already
work today on the innovative solutions required to master the challenges of tomorrow will be
able to succeed in the face of international competition – in spite of or precisely because of
the economic situation which is expected to remain tense.
2. Full speed ahead with innovations
In R&D the country located along the Danube is focusing on core strengths such as life
sciences, environment and energy, ICT, traffic and mobility. This has been a success, as
confirmed by international rankings. The Innovation Union Scoreboard (2011), the annual
survey of the innovative performance of the EU-27, rates Austria as eighth in the top ranks of
innovation followers. Furthermore, Austria has set itself the ambitious target of moving ahead
to become one of the most innovative countries in Europe by the year 2020.
3. Dynamic growth
Austria has laid the groundwork for the future. In
2011 R&D expenditures will surpass EUR 8 billion for
the first time5. Private industry accounts for the lion‘s
share of EUR 3.7 billion (44.6 percent), followed by
the public sector with EUR 3.21 billion (38.7 percent).
A total of EUR 1.34 billion in R&D expenditures were
transferred directly to Austria from abroad (16.2
percent) – mainly via subsidiaries of foreign firms.
The business environment in Austria has been favorable to R&D investments for a long time.
In 2009 some 500 foreign controlled companies based in Austria accounted for half of all
corporate R&D expenditures amounting to EUR 2.646 billion6). Moreover, in November 2011
22 top international companies based in Austria such Baxter, NXP Semiconductors Austria,
Voestalpine, Infineon, Magna and AT&S committed themselves to increasing their research
4
Austrian Research and Technology Report 2011
Statistics Austria, press release dated April 19, 2011
This includes the monetary share of R&D funding which was transferred directly to Austria from abroad, and accounted for
about one fifth of total Austrian R&D expenditures. In 2011 this direct R&D financing from abroad totaled EUR 1.340 billion or a
share of 16.2 percent.
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and development expenditures by 20 percent up until 20157. Accordingly they will finance
one-fifth of the total corporate research in the future.
4. Attractive research premium
Companies carrying out research in Austria pay lower taxes. At the beginning of 2011 the
underlying conditions conducive to entrepreneurial innovation were further improved when
the research premium for expenditures relating to a company’s own research and
development as well as contract research was increased from eight to ten percent. The
research premium is paid out in cash.
5. Research promotion country Austria
The central funding agency for research-intensive companies is the Austrian Research
Promotion Agency (FFG), which facilitates quick access to funding services for companies
operating in all business sectors which are based in Austria, including subsidiaries of foreign
industrial groups. This is achieved via headquarter programs, standard and start-up funding
as well as 30 other special initiatives. Other funding organizations include Austria
Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (aws) and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), which provides
support to basic research as the counterpart to industrial or commercial research.
6. Strong partners: the business and scientific communities
“A knot cannot be tied with one hand only” is an old Mongolian jewel of wisdom which is
becoming increasingly important in innovation competition. For this reason, companies and
research facilities in Austria have been involved in strategic partnerships for many years in
the form of competence centers and specific industry clusters. These are designed to exploit
synergies and future potential, and create strong networks to work on developing trendsetting, future-oriented and profitable solutions.
More than 40 competence centers
One of the most successful Austrian funding initiatives is COMET (Competence Centers for
Excellent Technologies). For many years COMET has succeeded in promoting the targeted
and sustainable cooperation between industry and science with respect to the top
technologies in the country by creating suitable framework conditions. Today 46 such
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http://www.bmvit.gv.at/innovation/forschungspolitik/innovationsland.html
competence centers bundle their internationally sought-after R&D know-how, thus ensuring
attractive competitive advantages, also for foreign investors. During the entire duration of the
COMET funding initiative (2006-2019), a total of EUR 1.5 billion will be invested in industryrelated research by the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and the
Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth as well as the federal provinces, companies
and research institutions.8
Excellent examples are the “Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering“ (RCPE) in Graz
for pharmaceutical process and product development, or “ONCOTYROL”, the competence
center for cancer therapy located in Innsbruck, which aims to translate its research results in
the fields of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics to clinical cancer medicine.
The “Austrian Center for Medical Innovation and Technology (Acmit)“, a competence center
in Wiener Neustadt in the field of medical robotics, is opening new perspectives for
buttonhole surgery (minimally invasive surgery), whereas “Bioenergy 2020+“ boasts several
research facilities in Austria and successful innovations in environmentally-friendly energy
production from biomass.
Cluster landscape in Austria
52 industry clusters in 9 federal provinces
Source: Cluster platform
More than 50 industry clusters
More than 50 industry clusters located in all nine
federal provinces, featuring some 3,500
companies and 420,000 employees, work to
strengthen Austria‘s innovative capabilities9.
Synergies are exploited and strategic
partnerships with renowned research institutes
and excellent researchers are pursued within the
framework of closely-knit networks of specialized
firms – from international R&D headquarters to SMEs and innovative spin-offs.
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http://www.bmvit.gv.at/presse/aktuell/nvm/2009/1029OTS0087.html
http://www.clusterplattform.at/index.php?id=68
There has already been recognition for this partnership-drive approach to innovation from the
USA. In 2010 the Styrian-based “Eco World Styria” was named the global number one
environmental technology cluster by the Cleantech Group. Best practice examples also
include the “Mechatronics Cluster (MC) Upper Austria” which now encompasses 334
partners in the fields of plant construction, mechanical and apparatus engineering as well as
technology and component production10. The Styrian cluster pioneer “AC Styria” continues to
enjoy an international reputation for innovative vehicle development thanks to the tried and
tested cooperation between multinational companies such as MAGNA, Steyr Daimler Puch
and AVL List with innovative SMEs such as Virtual Vehicles and Ventrex.
7. Highly-qualified researchers and specialized personnel
In order to bring innovations to market, one does not only need good ideas derived from
research and development work but also highly qualified specialized personnel to practically
translate these ideas into reality. Austria offers both. This is due to the long tradition of
application-oriented education and training, whether in educational institutions such as the
numerous technical colleges, 22 public universities and thirteen private ones as well as 21
universities of applied sciences11. Moreover, Austria’s economy is very well positioned in
European comparison when it comes to further education and lifelong learning. After all, 81
percent of the companies offer active continuing education and qualification programs for
their employees, as confirmed by the Third European Continuing Vocational Training Survey
(2005)12.
8. Proximity to Eastern Europe
Austria has established itself as the business interface to the growth markets of Central and
Eastern Europe thanks to its geographical location in the heart of Europe. The Alpine
Republic boasts 300 regional corporate headquarters, significantly ahead of competitive CEE
business locations such Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary13. Approximately
1,000 international companies coordinate their Eastern European business operations from
Austria.
10
http://www.mechatronik-cluster.at/1160_DEU_HTML.php
Brochure “Knowledge Creates a Future“, published by the Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth, May 2011
IBW, Institute for Research on Qualifications and Training of the Austrian Economy and the Format/trend supplement “ TOP
Location Austria“, April 2011
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ABA-Invest in Austria
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Research-intensive companies such as Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the 15 biggest
pharmaceutical companies worldwide, rely on the small but excellent research location of
Austria for its R&D activities. The pharmaceutical giants invests EUR 145 million annually in
Austria14, coordinating the entire clinical research in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in
the Asian and African markets from its Regional Center Vienna.
Austria has also long proven its value to Siemens as a bridgehead to the East, for example
as the R&D headquarters for application-specific chips (ASICs) and constraint-based
configurations (complex configurations) in Vienna. In addition, the worldwide technology
strategy of the Group is also significantly impacted by the more than 1,300 researchers and
developers of Siemens Austria focusing on future-oriented fields such as smart grids or railbound public transport, as demonstrated by an investment volume of EUR 331 million in the
year 201115.
ABA-Invest in Austria is the national investment promotion company of the Republic of Austria. It has
established itself as the initial point of contact for international investors and companies interested in
setting up business operations in Austria. ABA-Invest in Austria offers consulting services free of
charge in selecting a suitable site, or provides support in dealing with public authorities and funding
agencies, with labor and tax issues and identifying cooperation partners.
In 2010 ABA-Invest in Austria consulted 198 companies setting up business in Austria which invested
a total of EUR 221.1 million. Since its founding in the year 1982, the national investment promotion
company has enabled investments of EUR 5.95 billion in Austria, creating a total of 41,472 new jobs.
In 2009 ABA-Invest in Austria was ranked by Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking of the World
Bank Group as the best national investment promotion consultancy in the world. Today it operates
consulting offices in New York and Tokyo as well as at its headquarters in Vienna.
Contact:
Hanni Grassauer
International Media Relations
ABA-Invest in Austria (Austrian Business Agency)
Opernring 3, A-1010 Vienna
Tel. 0043 1 588 58 57; Fax: 0043 1 586 86 59
E-Mail: h.grassauer@aba.gv.at
Internet: www.investinaustria.at
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Boehringer Ingelheim January 2012 as well as the Format/trend supplement “TOP Location Austria”, April 2011
Annual Report of Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Austria 2011