Aims and main concerns

Since Austria joined the IEA it has taken an active part in the Agency’s energy technology programmes (Implementing Agreements). These usefully complement Austria’s own energy research, and are reflected in the main Austrian concerns. The focus is therefore on ensuring Austrian participation in the IEA’s Implementing Agreements, Tasks and Annexes and on facilitating dissemination of the results obtained and network activities.

Aims of the IEA research collaboration programme

The programme has the following general aims:

Researching and developing new products, processes and services in the areas of concern to the International Energy Agency
Detecting international developments at an early stage, so as to position Austrian RTI policy strategically and work out R&D priorities

The following concrete goals are pursued:

Successfully contributing Austrian expertise and results from national and EU R&D projects to the IEA projects
Transferring know-how and results to Austrian research institutions and firms
Increased initiation and implementation of innovative Task/Annex projects headed by Austria and focussed on BMK concerns such as innovative buildings, renewable sources of energy, Smart Grids and Smart Cities
Transferring the results of IEA energy research to EU and worldwide standards and grading systems

Programme evaluation

The programme "IEA Research Collaboration" was last evaluated in 2012.

Over the period 2005-2010 a total of 73 projects were funded to the tune of around 5.6 million Euro, while membership fees for the Implementing Agreements came to around 150,000 Euro per annum. The evaluation produced the following recommendations: increasing the IEA budget in line with the rise in general expenditure on energy research; involving industry stakeholders in research collaboration to a greater extent; and closer synchronization of national calls for bids with project generation at IEA level.

Brochure – Austria’s contributions within the IEA’s Energy Technology Network

The brochure "Weltweite Forschungszusammenarbeit für die Energie¬versorgung der Zukunft - Österreichs Beiträge im Rahmen des Energie-Technologie-Netzwerks der Internationalen Energieagentur" ("Research collaboration around the world for the energy supply systems of the future – Austria's contributions within the IEA's Energy Technology Network", in German only) provides an overview of the Austrian involvement in the IEA's Implementing Agreements and presents selected IEA technology programmes and national projects.

IEA country reports for Austria

Every five to seven years the IEA carries out a detailed investigation of each member state's energy policy and energy research. The most recent IEA report on Austria, for 2014, gave Austrian energy research good marks.

Since 2007 expenditure on energy research has increased by a factor of four, and Austria is now in sixth place among the IEA member states, with 120 million Euro per annum. The IEA recommend that Austria ensure continuity in energy research and increase spending long-term, motivate firms even more to invest in energy research, make access to research findings as open as possible, and motivate students to opt for subjects relevant to energy research.

Publication entry IEA country report Austria 2014 (in German only)
Publication entry IEA country report Austria 2007

Energy research surveys

The IEA's member states record public-sector expenditure on energy research; this goes into the IEA's central records. As a result developments and trends emerge over the years, and suitable steering measures for research policy can be inferred. The uniform survey method also makes comparisons between countries possible.