Siemens strengthens innovative strength: three universities combine forces in Austria

Siemens strengthens innovative strength: three universities combine forces in Austria

On September 17, 2025, a new milestone was set in Austria's innovation landscape. The Vienna University of Technology, the Montanuniversität Leoben and the TU Graz today announced the reinforcement of the Siemens Research and Innovation Ecosystem (RIE). This extensive partnership aims to develop innovative solutions in areas such as sustainable mobility, energy efficient production and digital transformation. As the Vienna University of Technology reported in a recent announcement, on September 11th Siemens announced the expansion of the existing research network in Graz into a nationwide Siemens RIE AUT.

In this intensive collaboration, which has existed with TU Graz since 2015 and has been operating as “Siemens RIE Graz” since 2021, the networking between universities, research institutes and industry plays a central role. In this context, Patricia Neumann, CEO of Siemens Austria, emphasized the need for planned measures to strengthen Austria as a technology location. These initiatives are particularly important to consolidate the country's global presence as a research location and to establish Siemens as an innovative driver in Europe.

Successful collaborations

The successes of this cooperation so far are impressive. The most notable developments include energy-efficient lightweight components for trains and groundbreaking digital twin technologies. An outstanding project is the system for detecting material defects in the smartfactory@TUGraz, which does not require any external sensors. Horst Bischof, Rector of TU Graz, emphasized the importance of this long-standing collaboration and emphasized the central research priorities that are now to be integrated into the new “fuTUre fit” strategy of TU Vienna.

Peter Moser, Rector of the Montanuniversität Leoben, pointed out that the Siemens RIE AUT will also play an important role in the area of ​​circular engineering. This shows how diverse the priorities within the partnership are in order to meet the current challenges in science and business.

Bridges between science and business

In these dynamic times, collaboration between research and industry is essential. The Austrian Cooperative Research (ACR) network makes a significant contribution to this. It brings together 19 non-university institutes and serves more than 13,000 customers every year. ACR was founded in 1954 and acts as a bridge builder between science and business, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy and Tourism. More than 22,000 research, testing and development contracts take place every year, with over 800 experts working on the marketability of innovative solutions.

ACR's main topics range from sustainable construction to modern materials to digitalization and renewable energies. ACR offers comprehensive services especially for startups, including free initial orientation discussions and feasibility analyses. A prime example of the success of these initiatives is the Graz startup Brave Analytics, which, with the support of ACR, developed a method for counting micro- and nanoparticles and was awarded the ACR Startup Prize in 2023.

Innovations for the future

With regard to mobility, the research department at Fraunhofer IAO also shows what future-oriented innovations can look like. Particular work is being done here on solutions that interlink mobility, energy and information and communication technology. The projects in the “Mobility Innovation Lab” serve as a creative workshop and test innovative technologies for future vehicles. An interdisciplinary approach ensures that the development of mobility systems is always in harmony with the needs of people and the environment.

In summary, the developments surrounding the Siemens Research and Innovation Ecosystem, the commitment of ACR and the initiatives of Fraunhofer clearly show how much Austria is on the way to becoming a leading innovation location. With increased collaboration between science and industry, we can look forward to seeing what creative solutions will see the light of day in the coming years.

Further information about these exciting developments can be found on the website TU Vienna, des Incubator and des Fraunhofer IAO.