Upper Austria earmarks 113 million euros for research
Monday 10th August 2026 on 16:15 in
Austria
Upper Austria will provide 113 million euros for research funding this year as the state expects economic growth of 0.8 to 0.9 percent in 2026, ORF reported. After three years of recession, Economic Affairs Minister Markus Achleitner said the state was seeing signs of a turning point.
The state plans to invest around 800 million euros this year in areas including childcare, road construction and infrastructure. State-owned holdings are expected to invest an additional 900 million euros.
Economic support will focus on targeted measures based on the “Upper Vision 2030” economic and research strategy. Priority areas include digitalisation and the transformation of industry towards a circular economy. The funding programmes will also be evaluated externally.
According to Achleitner, Upper Austria provided around 870 million euros for economic and research funding between 2020 and 2025. This supported projects worth around five billion euros. Each euro in funding generated about six euros in investment, he said.
Innovation seen as key to competing with China
Achleitner said innovation was crucial to Upper Austria’s competitiveness as pressure from China increased. Products and services made more expensively in Upper Austria would have to offer technological advantages over their competitors, he said.
He pointed to recently rising investments by companies including BMW, voestalpine, the Google data centre, TGW and FACC. Investments worth several hundred million euros and, in some cases, billions are currently being made in Upper Austria, he said.
AI could help address labour shortage
Achleitner also described artificial intelligence as an important part of the region’s economic future. Upper Austria would have to deploy AI faster and more effectively than other regions to gain a competitive advantage, he said.
The state currently has around 700,000 people in employment. By 2030, it could face a shortage of about 83,000 workers, rising to around 151,000 by 2040. Automation, robotics and AI could help release workers for sectors where they are urgently needed, Achleitner said.
SPÖ leader Martin Winkler criticised the government’s role in the recovery. He said the modest upturn was being driven primarily by industry and companies willing to invest, rather than by state policy. Winkler nevertheless welcomed investment in research and infrastructure.