Basic Research as the Foundation for Key Technologies

In its industry strategy presented today, the federal government named key technologies it considers to be of particular importance for Austria as a research and business location. Many of the highlighted areas – including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced materials, and life sciences – depend specifically on the established strengths of Austrian basic research.

January 16, 2026

Forscher im Labor — Researchers at Austria’s universities and non-university research institutions are creating the knowledge base for Austria’s key technologies in FWF-funded projects. © FWF/Dominik Pfeifer

The areas highlighted in the report are fields in which the FWF has invested heavily in recent years – seven of the nine current FWF Clusters of Excellence, for example, focus on subjects classified as key technologies. This demonstrates that the FWF’s thematically open funding policy, geared exclusively towards scientific excellence, is a decisive success factor: Through years of continuous bottom-up funding, valuable know-how has been built up in these crucial research fields. This expertise directly benefits key technologies today.

“In addition to the industry strategy, the growth-oriented funding of the entire RTI pact as set out in the RTI strategy is the key to ensuring that thousands of researchers at Austria’s research institutions and universities can continue to create the foundations for innovation and tackle social challenges in the future. Twenty years ago, it was impossible to predict which technologies would play a leading role today and what challenges we would face, making it all the more important to fund excellent research at an international level across the entire thematic spectrum. This is the only way to ensure that Austria remains innovative and fit for the future in the long term,” says FWF President Christof Gattringer.