AIT draws positive conclusions: record figures and future projects in focus!

AIT draws positive conclusions: record figures and future projects in focus!

The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology draws a positive balance for the year 2024. With earnings after taxes of 5.42 million euros, compared to 4.89 million euros in the previous year, the research institution is recording a significant increase. Operating income amounted to 218 million euros, an increase of 9% compared to the previous year. In particular, external revenue from contract and co-financed research increased by 11.3% to 130.7 million euros.

With an order backlog of 276.2 million euros and an increase of 6% at the end of the year, AIT shows a robust order situation. The current workforce includes 1,653 people from more than 50 nations, which underlines the international orientation of the facility. The AIT is active in a total of 127 projects as part of the EU research framework program Horizon Europe, coordinating 26 of these projects itself and was able to acquire over 77 million euros in funding. Loud wirtschaftzeit.at The AIT is one of the top 3 research institutions in Austria.

Research projects and technologies

AIT research aims to develop solutions to real-world challenges and is characterized by innovative technologies. These include, among other things, artificial intelligence to combat fraud, quality controls in the steel industry and the autonomous operation of machines. The AIT also helped set up a supercomputer hub and invested 13 million euros in infrastructure and research topics.

Another highlight is the opening of a new solid-state battery laboratory in Vienna, as well as the start of the AIT H2Lab in Seibersdorf, which serves as a national test environment for hydrogen technologies. The start of construction of a large test bench for heat pumps up to 100 kW is also seen as an important step in technological development. In addition, the AIT supports three new spin-off projects in the pre-foundation phase to ensure a market-oriented and successful entry into technology transfer, and is working on designing an ecosystem for spin-offs in Austria and Europe.

Peter Schwab, Chairman of the AIT Supervisory Board, emphasizes the central role of innovation for growth and competitiveness today. As part of the upcomingTechnology Talks Austria 2025, which will take place on September 11th and 12th, 2025 in the MuseumsQuartier Vienna, the focus will be on the topic of Europe's competitiveness.

Horizon Europe

In the context of the European research landscape, the Horizon Europe program plays a crucial role. This program, which is the world's largest single funding program for research and innovation, has a budget of 95.5 billion euros. The goal of bmbf.de is to strengthen Europe's competitiveness, promote cooperation between science and industry and solve social problems.

The program structure of Horizon Europe consists of several pillars, including scientific excellence, thematic clusters on socially relevant topics, and instruments to promote innovative approaches. The research topics are based on issues such as health, sustainable development and digitalization and enable cross-border collaboration both in Europe and worldwide. In addition, planning is already underway for the 10th EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation, which is scheduled to start on January 1, 2028.