ec.europa.eu/invest-eu | #investEU OPPORTUNITIES START HERE.#investEU

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE.AUSTRIA

#investEU

OPPORTUNITIES START HERE.2ec.europa.eu/invest-eu | #investEU

EXPLORE THE STORIES BEHIND EU INVESTMENT

The European Union supports individuals, ideas and visions to help boost investment and growth across EuropeThe European Union is all about opportunities that deliver real benefits and make a difference at a local level. The promotion of growth, employment and well-being across Europe is one of its main priorities. By investing in people’s ideas and visions, the EU is removing obstacles and creating favourable conditions for development and modernisation across the continent. In support of the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of Europeans, the EU opens doors and empowers people to pursue their own innovative projects.

Europeans have already come up with original ideas for better education, modernised healthcare and greener transport infrastructure, to cite but a few examples, and the EU has provided the means to get tailored projects off the ground. Where valuable projects struggle to win investment due to the reluctance of investors to take risks, the EU steps in by backing loans or providing funding for projects that have the potential to succeed.

In Austria, the EU has funded the research and application of an innovative technology that makes it possible to recycle waste materials that were previously neglected. The technology, developed by an Austrian university in co-operation with partners from five European countries, could in future create an added value of EUR 150 million annually from these recovered resources. Moreover, the new technology could help cut CO2 emissions and counteract the expansion of landfill sites.

EU funding not only offers financial support for projects - project owners can also benefit from hands-on coaching and gain the expertise to ensure that their projects provide added value for the people and communities around them. Results are visible thanks to knowledge-sharing and research facilities, energy-efficient buildings or smart mobility solutions, which, in turn, lead to a more sustainable future for Europe’s cities and regions.

EU-funded projects such as specialized training schemes for disadvantaged people in search of work, innovative mobility solutions or pioneering high-tech companies foster creativity and provide a boost to local markets.

This brochure presents only a small selection of these success stories, but you can find many positive examples of constructive European Union-funded investment projects by taking a closer look around your own neighbourhood.

MECHATRONIC SYSTEMTECHNIK

AINSTEIN

DEMONTAGE AND RECYCLING CENTRE

VILLACH VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

LEA PRODUCTION SCHOOL

CONNECTED VEHICLES

CENTRAL EUROPEAN GREEN CORRIDORS

PLAYNICK

BAUER

ENERGETIKUM - LIVING LAB

ENERGIEPARK BRUCK/LEITHA

ZETA BIOPHARMA

SUNNYBAG

DRAGON

Novel and practical training approaches catch on

5

LEA production school in Wörgl, Villach vocational school and the DRZ Vienna are improving the career prospects of young people in Austria. Their creative, practical and sustainable approaches to learning are backed by EU funding.

What comes after compulsory schooling? LEA production school (the German acronym of the verbs Leben-Entfalten-Arbeiten, meaning ‘Living, Developing, Working’) in Wörgl, Austria tries to answer this question. It provides individual and practical guidance for people aged 15-19 with no career or educational plans. “My sister attended LEA before me,” says Hatice Yilmaz, who has completed LEA. “I also wanted to see what it was like. I was interested in hairdressing and did an apprenticeship. Now I want to set up my own business. Thanks to LEA, I have a clear plan for how to achieve that.” Elisabeth Wolfgruber, manager of LEA’s services training department, explains: “Together, we strive to focus on every single young person.

We work with them on their future career and general prospects.” LEA was established in 2010 supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) and has been financed since 2012 by the Tyrol Public Employment Service (AMS) and the State of Tyrol. Its approach to helping young people who would otherwise have difficulty entering the job market is catching on.

Villach vocational school – run by FAB - Verein zur Förderung von Arbeit und Beschäftigung (Association for the Promotion of Labour and Employment) – also focuses on individual career planning and support. People aged up to 24 with special educational or social needs in the region of Carinthia can spend a maximum of 12 months on the programme, during which they are trained in gastronomy, business management and woodwork in the school’s workshops. Their living costs are paid for by the Public Employment Service (AMS), with EU co-funding coming through the ESF. According to project manager Manuel Werkl, this is the only way that “the material and staffing resources for services such as outdoor teaching, skills advice, coaching on building networks and personality development can be financed”. Like LEA production school, Villach vocational school places great emphasis on cooperation with local businesses. Its combination of theory and practice enables young people to develop career plans and discover new opportunities.

A similar approach, also initially funded by the ESF, is being taken at the TrashDesign manufactory of the Demontage- und Recycling-Zentrum (DRZ) in Vienna, which produces upcycled products from electronic waste. Whether it’s stools made from old books, bowls from washing machine doors or handbags from circuit boards – every item is unique. In addition to the manufactory, DRZ has a reuse department where old electronic devices are brought back to life, and a dismantling department where devices that can’t be reused are dismantled and recycled. “On average, we have 65 workers that the Public Employment Service places with us for six months as part of the public benefit scheme,” says TrashDesign’s Thomas Kirchner. “The aim is for them to find a job during that period with the help of social tutors.” The Public Employment Service funds this unconventional approach to combating unemployment because it “provides employment opportunities for people who would otherwise have difficulties on the labour market,” says Petra Draxl, head of Vienna Public Employment Service.

WÖRGL, VILLACH, VIENNAEUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND©

FA

B/H

elge

Bau

er

© in

vest

EU

7

From high-tech building blocks for children and innovative mouthpieces for wind instruments, to backpacks that generate electricity, creativity in Austria knows no bounds. Many good ideas emerging from the country have benefitted from EU funding.

“When my daughter Marie was born in 2013, I wanted to give her a special gift – building blocks that I had designed myself. I began experimenting, first with wooden models and then with prototypes from a 3D printer,” explains Sven Purns from Vienna. The result was more than just a special birthday present. Purns’ triangular building blocks, each containing a number of magnets, provide little architects with new ways to play and learn. Marie wasn’t the only one who liked the toy. Thanks to the European Investment Fund (EIF), Purns was granted a low-interest start-up loan for his company, Ainstein. “The EU funding not only made it possible for me to obtain a loan as a start-up, but I also benefitted from a very

favourable interest rate, allowing me to focus on my core business,” he says.

Nick and Carina Kückmeier’s core business revolves around music. “We want to make music more appealing to young musicians, help them in their learning progress and give professional artists the tools to develop new forms of expression,” they say. In 2001, Nick, a graduate of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, and Carina, a clarinettist, fulfilled that dream by setting up their company Playnick, in the town of Höf-Präbach. Nowadays, Playnick counts professional musicians and over 300 symphony orchestras from around the world among its customers, including the Berlin, New York and Tokyo philharmonics. Not only linked to the quality of the products and services offered, but also to the untiring commitment of Nick Kückmeier to their development. Together with prototyping company Resch, he developed a technique for the fully automated production of mouthpieces from any material and in any shape. Needing capital to implement his idea of replacing wooden parts of musical instruments with plastic components, he secured a loan with help from the European Investment Fund (EIF). Today, the company employs seven people and remains true to the philosophy that “there’s always something that can be improved”.

Stefan Ponsold has a similar story to tell. He came up with an idea for an environmentally

friendly supply of energy for people on the move in 2008. Two years later, he set up Graz-based company SunnyBAG, which produces innovative shoulder bags and backpacks that convert sunlight into electricity. The following year, the first major orders from aid organisations were rolling in, and SunnyBAG was honoured with awards such as the Clean Tech Media Award or the AidEX Awards for its development of innovative solar energy products for the humanitarian missions of Doctors Without Borders. “Like many companies, what we needed most at the start was sufficient capital to finance our growth,” recalls Ponsold. The start-up was helped by COSME, an EU funding programme for SMEs. Today, SunnyBAG generates turnover of almost €1 million, recording annual growth of 40-60 %. It is becoming an extremely successful exporter, with branches in countries including Switzerland, Hungary, Slovenia and the USA, as well as its home country of Austria.

EU support for Austrian invention and creativity

© S

unny

BAG

Gm

bH

VIENNA, HÖF-PRÄBACH, GRAZAINSTEIN, PLAYNICK, SUNNYBAG ©

Pla

ynic

k G

mbH

Technology for the pharmaceutical industry

Energy self sufficiency at Styrian agricultural farmRudolf Bauer built his first manure pump in 1930 at Voitsberg, a town of 9,400 inhabitants in the Austrian region of Styria. Today, thanks to an EU loan, the roofs of Bauer Group’s headquarters are fitted with one of Austria’s largest industrial photovoltaic systems.

Bauer’s product range has been focused on agricultural food production since founder Rudolf Bauer built his first manure pump in 1930. But the world has changed since then. “At that time, the global population was just under two billion. With the technology available back then it would not be possible to feed today‘s global population,” writes the company on its website.

Careful handling of natural resources is of vital importance for a globalised world which is faced with climate change and will soon be home to eight billion people. “Energy efficiency is a major issue for us, not just in terms of our products but also our production sites,” says chief financial officer Andreas Schitter.

Bauer secured an €8-million loan through the Investment Plan for Europe, guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), to carry out a complete thermal renovation at its premises in Voitsberg, Austria. Initially,

the company had doubts about the four-year renovation period. As an experiment, it installed two compact photovoltaic systems at a small production plant in Germany. “When we saw how well it worked, it was clear that we should do the same in Voitsberg,” admits Schitter.

Work got underway in 2013. Factory and office walls have been re-insulated, the roof structure has been renovated and the roofs have been equipped with one of Austria’s largest photovoltaic systems.

Since the photovoltaic system came into operation in December 2016, Bauer’s energy requirements and carbon dioxide emissions have fallen considerably. It has an annual output of 2.4 million kilowatt hours, making Bauer energy self-sufficient.

Schitter is delighted by the benefits for customers. “Our production costs are considerably lower overall, which enables us to keep our prices stable,” he says.

Enterprises like ZETA, supplying the pharmaceutical industry, play a vital role in healthcare. An EU-backed loan is helping the company to expand.

Austria’s ZETA Group builds systems to ensure the smooth functioning of production processes in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Its high-tech, bespoke technology is used to manufacture biopharmaceutical substances such as anticancer drugs, insulin, vaccines and infusions.

The owner-managed company is growing rapidly. It has eight sites in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine. The size of its workforce has tripled in the last 5 years to reach some 455 people. Most of the employees are technicians, engineers or skilled workers. Since the business was acquired by the Maier and Marchler families in 2011, its operating performance has increased by an average of 30% per year.

An important factor in the company’s sustained growth is the financial support of the European Union. The Investment Plan for Europe provides assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises such as ZETA across the continent.

ZETA was granted a loan guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, which is one of the main pillars of the Investment Plan and is aimed at mobilising private investment for strategically important projects.

ZETA’s experts design pharmaceutical production systems, develop their underlying technical engineering components and manufacture the systems. In addition, they provide automation concepts, training and after-sales service for major global pharmaceutical companies, who use the firm’s systems to produce essential drugs.

Demand for ZETA’s products is high, but the management team is committed to “homogeneous growth” on the biotech and pharmaceutical markets and sustainable reinvestment of profits. Their strategy and aim is to “manage the company in an economically and environmentally sustainable, transparent and non-discriminatory manner” and to “protect the environment, comply with occupational health and safety requirements, prevent accidents and ensure system safety”.

9

© Z

ETA

VOITSBERGBAUER LIEBOCH/GRAZZETA BIOPHARMA©

BAU

ER G

mbH

Research breeds innovation in the semiconductor industryMechatronic Systemtechnik from Villach in Austria has established a strong reputation based on its sharp research focus. The company, which makes machines for handling silicon wafers used in semiconductors, is looking to develop new machines thanks to an EU-backed loan.

Smartphones, tablets, and digital cameras are all around us. It‘s not uncommon for children to be familiar with the logos of the major brands. However, the flourishing of the electronics industry cannot only be put down to the success of big-name companies. Behind the scenes, small and medium-sized enterprises provide much of the necessary hardware for its products. In Austria alone, almost 4 % of GDP is spent on research and development to ensure that our devices are always at the cutting edge.

One of the companies investing in such activities is Mechatronic Systemtechnik, a hi-tech enterprise with its headquarters in Villach. Mechatronic has been developing and producing specialised machines for handling thin silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry for almost 20 years. These wafers are chiefly used in the consumer electronics sector, for camcorders, digital cameras and mobile

phones. Mechatronic’s customers include leading international companies, such as Infineon and Nikon.

On its website, Mechatronic promotes its “unique product range” and its edge over its competitors. Numerous technological advances should allow the company to build on its strong position. It currently spends 6 % of its annual turnover on research and development and works closely with research institutes throughout Europe. “Research and development will continue to play a major role at Mechatronic Systemtechnik,” the company promises.

That naturally costs money, so the Investment Plan for Europe was just what Mechatronic needed. Thanks to a loan granted by an Austrian bank and guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments – a central pillar of the Investment Plan which aims to unlock private financing so as to generate economic growth – the firm can continue to invest and further reinforce its position on the global market.

VILLACH MECHATRONIC SYSTEMTECHNIKWind power drives Austria’s renewable energy ambitionsPioneers of wind power faced an uphill struggle in Austria 20 years ago. Trailblazers such as Energiepark Bruck/Leitha have changed that. Austria now invests heavily in renewables and EU funding has helped the company to build a new wind farm.

While the 1990s saw a boom in wind farm construction across Europe, there was little action in Austria until the Green Electricity Act was passed in 2002. Nevertheless, a number of pioneering enterprises demonstrated that the hills of this region could be used to generate wind energy. Founded in 1995, the Energiepark Bruck/Leitha is one such pioneer.

Some 75,000 local residents benefit among others from the park’s wind turbines and bio-methane plant. The wind energy and bio-methane, fed directly into the gas grid, enable carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced by around 338,000 tonnes a year. Energiepark thus makes the area both a leader in renewable energy and a good example of the general trend in Austria.

Some €2.5 billion have been invested in the expansion of wind power in Austria since 2012. In 2016, it covered 9.3 % of national electricity consumption, with the potential for achieving a higher proportion still. However, Austria has

even more ambitious plans. At the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris, it announced a target of “100% electricity generation from renewables by 2030”.

Energiepark Bruck/Leitha is playing its part in this. In 2016, it received EU support in the form of a loan granted by the European Investment Bank and an Austrian bank. The loan was made possible by the Investment Plan for Europe, which is promoting the use of renewable energy sources. The result is the construction of the windparks in Hof and Seibersdorf with 12 turbines.

The new facilities show that wind will continue to play a key role in the local environmental agenda.

11

© E

nerg

iepa

rk B

ruck

/Let

iha

HOF-SEIBERSDORFENERGIEPARK BRUCK/LEITHA©

mec

hatr

onic

sys

tem

tech

nik

Gm

bH

Creating the buildings of the futureThe buildings of future are taking shape with EU support in the Austrian region of Burgenland. The Pinkafeld Campus of University of Applied Sciences Burgenland now boasts a state-of-the-art experimental building where energy efficiency research is carried out based on new, revolutionary methodology.

Known as the ‘Energetikum’, the new experimental building at University of Applied Sciences Burgenland in Austria is a ‘living laboratory’. This special research facility harnesses a methodology that enables actual user requirements and feedback to be integrated into research and development processes at an early stage, thus saving money, time and resources.

The Energetikum is used for research into improvements in energy efficiency, while also serving as an office building for students of building service engineering and facility management.

This highly practical approach is essential, as Christian Heschl, who manages the study programme on energy and environmental management, explains: “It’s of little benefit if we have a fantastic building that can solve every problem in theory, but the findings can’t be applied on a wider scale.”

Researchers at the Energetikum are working on solutions for energy supply, storage and distribution, along with ways of connecting these three elements. Heschl explains that new storage technologies are important, noting that whole buildings could even be used as energy stores. “The Energetikum is playing an important part in the energy transition by establishing the technological foundations for more efficient use of renewable energy systems in the future,” he says.

“This research project would not have been possible without co-funding from the European Union,” concludes Heschl. The research has received almost €600,000 from the European Regional Development Fund. The focus of research is on how the buildings of the future can be operated in an energy-efficient and cost-effective way.

PINKAFELDENERGETIKUM - LIVING LAB©

Rom

an H

udits

ch

13

Cutting congestion with cars that communicateMotorists today are all too familiar with congestion, accidents and exhaust fumes. The EU-funded Connected Vehicles project aims to change that by finding ways of predicting traffic jams and proposing alternative routes to drivers.

Managed by Gerald Ostermayer, the Networks and Mobility research group at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in Hagenberg is working to make transport cleaner, safer and more efficient – supported with €640,000 of EU funding.

The group’s Connected Vehicles project involves technologies that enable cars to communicate with their surroundings. Many cars already have this in the form of navigation systems that receive traffic information.

The researchers want to go a step further. “Each vehicle provides information about its current location and where it is heading. We use that information to provide a dynamic picture of the future traffic situation and redirect vehicles in time to avoid traffic jams,” explains Ostermayer. “We’re all familiar with stretches of road that always have heavy traffic. The project aims to make those a thing of the past.”

The EU covers around four-fifths of the costs.

“The funding from the European Regional Development Fund is a great help in enabling us to carry out our research project,” Ostermayer says.

The second step is to teach cars to communicate with one another. The group is working on technology to make that happen. Safety can be improved significantly if cars are able to exchange information.

Reductions in congestion would not only alleviate stress and improve safety, but also benefit the environment. “Traffic jams are costly and pollute,” says Ostermayer. “Every traffic jam that can be prevented reduces the costs to society as a whole.”

Although the trend is for self-driving cars, which are already used on test routes, Ostermayer is not yet willing to rely on one on a foggy, snowy winter’s day in Upper Austria. “I don’t think the technology is ready for such conditions,” he concludes. “Some years will have to pass before this technology becomes operational.”

HAGENBERGCONNECTED VEHICLES

© F

H O

Ö/A

. Gro

isbö

ck

CENTRAL EUROPEAN GREEN CORRIDORS CROSS-COUNTRY

A fast-charging network connecting EuropeA network of 115 new fast-charging stations in five European countries is making electric vehicles an attractive option even for long journeys. The EU has contributed half of the funding needed to set up the network.

More and more local and national authorities in Europe are discussing bans on diesel vehicles and the promotion of electric cars. The public also wants cleaner private transport, with many people interested in electric vehicles, but only a few have actually made the switch.

The main thing holding drivers back is the issue of range. What happens if the battery goes flat halfway through their trip and there is no charging station for miles around? They are also concerned about long charging times.

Such problems have been eliminated in some regions of Europe. Under the Central European Green Corridors project, which covers parts of Austria, Croatia, Germany, Slovakia and Slovenia, €7 million has been invested in a network of 115 fast-charging stations. Around half of the funds came from automotive and energy companies. The rest was provided by the EU through the Trans-European Transport Network programme, which aims to create better links between

Member States and develop a unified transport system.

For instance, there are now more than 20 charging stations both on the 500-km route from Munich to Bratislava and the 400-km route from Vienna to Ljubljana thanks to this project. Since batteries have an average range of some 200 km, anyone travelling by electric vehicle in the Central European Green Corridors area no longer needs to worry about finding a station.

Long charging times are also a thing of the past. “At a fast-charging station, the battery of a modern electric vehicle can be charged to 80 % within 25 to 30 minutes,” says project coordinator Eva Maria Plunger.

Further stations are set to follow, not only in Central Europe’s green corridor, but right across the continent.

© S

mat

rics

DRAGONLight at the end of the tunnelExcavation of tunnels results in tonnes of debris. With EU financing, the DRAGON project has found a way of getting this scree recycled quickly rather than putting it into landfill.

Ongoing and planned tunnelling projects across Europe are expected to generate almost 800 million tonnes of tunnel scree – material excavated during tunnelling. Such material often ends up in landfill.

The DRAGON project came up with a better idea. Why not enable it to be reused? To make this possible, the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development provided funding in excess of €3.2 million. “It was only thanks to the EU funding that we were able, in collaboration with our European partners, to develop the technology for the sustainable use of valuable excavated material on an industrial basis,” says project coordinator and tunnel researcher Robert Galler from Austria’s Montanuniversität Leoben specialised in Mining, Metallurgy and Materials.

DRAGON stands for ‘Development of Resource-efficient and Advanced Underground Technologies’. A total of seven partners from five European countries were participating in the project.

The technology enables information to be gathered about the properties of tunnel scree during the tunnelling stage. It can then be recycled on the spot, for instance by being turned into tunnel concrete. An example of this is the outer shell of the Koralm Tunnel, which forms part of the Graz-Klagenfurt railway.

Thanks to DRAGON, an annual added value of €150 million can be generated by recycling raw materials. That‘s not only good for the economy, but also for the environment, as recycling reduces carbon dioxide emissions and landfill use.

DRAGON’s innovative approach of combining innovative research and economic value with environmental matters is considerable. Functioning infrastructure is necessary to maintain the competitiveness of the European economy and tunnels play an important part in that, making the launch of many new projects that can benefit from the DRAGON technology very likely.

LEOBEN

15© in

vest

EU

NA

-04-17-791-EN-C N

A-04-17-791-EN

-N

Printed by the Publications Office in Luxembourg

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017

© European Union, 2017Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.The reuse policy of European Commission documents is regulated by Decision 2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39).

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.

Print ISBN 978-92-79-72370-4 doi: 10.2775/710524 NA-04-17-791-EN-CPDF ISBN 978-92-79-72372-8 doi: 10.2775/285578 NA-04-17-791-EN-N

WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION:

General information about the Investment Plan for Europe: ec.europa.eu/invest-eu

Representation of the European Commission in Austria:Wipplingerstraße 35 1010 Vienna AUSTRIA

Tel. +43 1 516 18 0Email: comm-rep-vie@ec.europa.euInternet: ec.europa.eu/austria

Find a Europe Direct centre near you for information:europa.eu/european-union/contact_en