Weiz breaks ground on wood technology research centre

Weiz in Styria broke ground on Monday for the Wood Vision Lab, a new research centre focused on developing wood as a lightweight construction material, ORF reported.

The centre will investigate new high-tech applications for wood and is intended to help develop additional uses for the material. The building will be the fifth facility within the Weiz Innovation Centre and will itself use modern timber construction.

Wood is a traditional material in Styria, where around 62 percent of the land is forested. The region’s timber industry comprises 5,300 businesses employing more than 55,000 people.

The Wood Vision Lab has already established partnerships with Volkswagen, BMW and Siemens Mobility, particularly in the mobility sector. Previous research projects developed a side structure serving as impact protection in a vehicle door, as well as other structural components.

Lightweight elements are also in demand in aircraft construction, industry and energy technology, according to the project. The centre will bring research, businesses and start-ups together under one roof to allow new approaches to be tested and developed more quickly, said Styria’s economics councillor Willibald Ehrenhöfer of the Austrian People’s Party.

The building will have around 2,600 square metres of gross floor area across an initial five storeys. It will include research and development rooms, accelerator offices, meeting and multimedia rooms, and a wood technology centre with a production hall and wood-processing equipment.

The laboratory will be available to tenants, cooperation partners and external companies. Its proximity to the Joanneum Research research organisation and links to existing innovation networks are intended to create an internationally oriented competence hub.

The European Union, Austria’s federal government and the Province of Styria are funding the project. Around 9.5 million euros will be invested, and the building is scheduled to open in autumn 2027.