Austrian R&D Expenses Rise to € 8.61bn

This year, R&D and innovation activities should increase moderately. Against 2011, R&D expenses should rise by € 347m. Most investments are made by the private sector. Austrian enterprises are expected to make expenses of € 3.84bn this year.

This corresponds to 45% oft the total investment sum. The share of foreign enterprises reaches 22%. The public sector´s share amounts to 11%. In 2002, 1,942 enterprises registered R&D expenses. This figure rose to 2,946 in 2009. In this period of time, R&D expenses grew by 63%.

For Reinhold Mitterlehner, the Austrian Minister of Economics, this is a positive signal for Austria´s competitiveness. „Of course, we cannot succeed as cost leader, but as technological leader in future.“ For Mitterlehner, the critique by the European Council on Austria is not comprehensive. Austria would stagnate in the middle field, the Council said. However, Mitterlehner thinks that the stagnation has been conquered in meantime.

Nevertheless, Mitterlehner wants to promote private R&D expenses. Until 2020, the number of innovative enterprises should rise by 25%. Furthermore, Mitterlehner wants to raise public subsidies by 29% from € 350m to € 450m.

At the moment, Austria´s R&D quota reaches 2.8% of the GDP. Austria ranks fifth among the EU countries. Until 2020, the quota should rise to 3.76%, Mitterlehner says. However, investments of € 5.0bn must be made therefore, he concludes.