New Innovation Partnership Between Upper Austria and Poland

UAR Innovation Network and Łukasiewicz Research Network launch strategic cooperation

Upper Austria continues to expand its international research strength: Upper Austrian Research GmbH (UAR), the research management company of the Province of Upper Austria, and the Polish Łukasiewicz Research Network have signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement. This creates a new strategic axis for cutting-edge applied research between Upper Austria and Poland.

With the Łukasiewicz Research Network, the UAR Innovation Network gains a strong European partner. With 22 institutes and more than 4,500 researchers, the Polish research network is one of the largest applied research organisations in Europe. Together with the UAR Innovation Network, which brings together 16 research centres with around 1,600 employees, the cooperation will be further expanded in the future.

"This cooperation strengthens our international positioning as part of the #upperVISION2030 economic and research strategy. We are connecting leading research regions in Europe and creating concrete added value for research and industry," emphasises Markus Achleitner, Regional Minister for Economic Affairs and Research.

Poland is a dynamic hub of innovation and an important economic partner for Upper Austria. Many leading Upper Austrian companies – such as voestalpine, Engel and Fronius – have production and development sites there. The new cooperation combines the strengths of both research networks to advance key issues for Europe's future: from energy transition and sustainable industry to circular economy, digitalisation and security technologies.

As the leading research organisation in Upper Austria, the UAR is consistently promoting the internationalisation of the UAR Innovation Network. With around 100 ongoing EU projects, the network is already firmly established in European research collaborations. The alliance with the Łukasiewicz Research Network is an important next step in strategically expanding our innovation space.

The joint EU project ESTELLA demonstrates that the partnership is quickly yielding concrete results. In this project, partners from both networks are working on new solutions for recycling thermosetting composites, which are used in the automotive, aerospace and construction industries, among others. The aim is to develop bio-based epoxy resins with integrated recyclability, thereby making an important contribution to the circular economy. Scientific exchange has also already begun: a researcher from the Łukasiewicz network completed a research internship at the Wood Competence Centre – Wood K plus in Linz. Together, the team developed activated carbon from coffee grounds – a sustainable material that can bind pollutants and may be used in the future to remove pharmaceutical residues from wastewater.

With this new cooperation, the UAR Innovation Network and the Łukasiewicz Research Network are taking an important step towards pooling their research strengths and jointly developing innovations for key European issues of the future.

Further information in the press release on OTS.