COMET: Highlights in research

In COMET, companies and research institutions work closely together to develop solutions for the major challenges of our time – from energy and the circular economy to microelectronics, materials, production, artificial intelligence, life sciences, and quantum technology.

Manuela Maier +43 316 7093 311

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The COMET program (Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies) enables application-oriented cutting-edge research into the key technologies of tomorrow.

What makes COMET so special?

strategically relevant: research in areas of high importance for Austria as a center of business and innovation
science and industry united: joint selection of topics, medium- to long-term planning, and ongoing evaluation
direct knowledge and technology transfer: Research leads directly to marketable products, processes, and services.
strong impetus for innovation: New ideas, prototypes, and business models emerge in interdisciplinary teams.
joint financing: The program is jointly financed by the federal government, the participating federal states, and corporate and scientific partners.

official COMET website of the Österreichischen Forschungsgesellschaft FFG

To COMET Website of FFG

COMET in facts and figures and in Styria

COMET has played a central and decisive role in the non-university research and innovation landscape for many years, particularly in Styria.

Since 2008 …

the COMET budget has totaled €1.7 billion
the SFG has committed €184 million in Styrian COMET funding
corporate partners have contributed €838 million

Meanwhile…

over 1,100 employees work directly in Styrian COMET centers (as of January 1, 2025)
including corporate and scientific partners, over 4,200 people (around 2,500 of them in Styria) are involved in COMET research (as of 2024)
around 1,200 publications, 300 theses, and 69 dissertations are completed each year (as of 2024)

COMET modules, projects, and centers at a glance

The aim of the COMET module A3Red is to develop an interoperable modular research platform for AI-supported accelerated design of high-performance alloys with radically reduced content of critical raw materials.

The acib is a leading international research center in the field of industrial biotechnology. The center develops new, environmentally friendly, and economically and technically advanced processes for the biotech, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries.

This COMET center conducts research into innovative battery technologies for electric vehicles. The aim is to make batteries more efficient and sustainable. The clear focus is on safe operation in order to achieve the longest possible service life both in the vehicle and through reuse.

The COMET BattLab module combines methods from multiphysics material simulation with the fundamentals of polymer science to create the basis for the high-performance battery systems of the future.

BEST 4.0 develops sustainable and circular biorefinery processes and technologies for the production of green gases, green liquid fuels, and green products to support the transition to a climate-neutral and fossil carbon-free economy.

bio-ART focuses on the development of high-performance, environmentally friendly, multifunctional, and recyclable epoxy resin systems based on renewable raw materials, which make significant technological contributions to a bio-based plastics industry and sustainable development.

This module uses immersive analytics with virtual reality and augmented reality to interactively analyze industrial applications regardless of location.

The COMET project ECHODA aims to develop innovative concepts for household appliances with cooling and heating requirements in order to raise their energy efficiency and sustainability to a new level. The cooling and heating pump cycle was identified as the key system in this context.

The aim of the project is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of freeze lining, including the complex interaction of multiphase flow, heat transfer, microstructure, and crystal growth. A CFD model will be developed, experimentally validated, and used for quantitative simulation of industrial processes.

FuLIBatteR stands for Future Lithium-Ion Battery recycling for Recovery of critical raw materials and addresses the end of the battery cycle. The module tests processing methods for recovering critical raw materials.

The COMET project Green Zinc draws on many years of experience in research and development in the field of zinc recycling to define and model possible solutions for CO2 neutrality and zero waste, which are then tested on a laboratory and pilot scale.

The aim of the HyCentA research program is to advance the sustainable hydrogen society by several steps.

The COMET project Hylley is researching hydrogen engines as a climate-neutral and sustainable drive system for heavy commercial vehicles and construction machinery.

HyTechonomy aims to research the most important hydrogen technologies: electrolysers, storage systems and fuel cells. In addition, it seeks to identify optimisations through sector coupling and the ideal combination of technologies.

IACAI deals with algorithms and computers, human-computer interaction, and social and ethical considerations regarding future agent-centered AI.

The COMET K2 Center IC-MPPE aims to consistently integrate theoretical principles, the latest validated calculation methods, and key technologies to support material-based innovations.

The KNOW CENTER is a leading European innovation and cutting-edge research center for trustworthy AI and data science.

K1-MET is one of the leading international metallurgical competence centers for ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, based in Upper Austria and with Styrian participation.

The overarching strategic goal of K2DM is to address one of the biggest challenges in the development of today's transportation systems: the necessary massive shift of physical testing and approval processes to a virtual environment.

The COMET module LEC FFF will provide the scientific basis for novel development methods and tools to advance the use of ammonia in engines.

LEC GmbH is one of the world's leading research institutions for large engine technologies and develops innovative solutions for sustainable energy and transport systems. With its research, the center has been making an important contribution to global decarbonization for over 20 years.

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNP) have been found in all parts of the world and in various organisms in recent years. The health effects of this MNP exposure are almost completely unexplored. microONE was designed to fill this significant knowledge gap.

The aim of the COMET project N!CA is to reduce the workload of nursing staff through optimized care processes and reduced documentation requirements, and to enable evidence-based decision-making by providing new tools.

The COMET Center PCCL has developed into Austria's leading center for cooperative research in the field of plastics technology and polymer sciences. An important aspect of the research is its strong focus on the performance and functionality of polymer products in use.

The objective of the COMET module PlasmArc4Green is to develop numerical modeling and experimental monitoring tools for the accurate prediction of plasma-based metal manufacturing processes.

Pro²Future designs cognitive systems that have human-like abilities such as perception, understanding, interpretation, memorization, learning, reasoning, and corresponding cognition-driven actions, and which are embedded in both products and production systems.

Das COMET-Projekt ProMetHeus hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt innovative Legierungen zu entwickeln, hocheffiziente Prozessrouten zu gestalten, völlig neue Reuse- bzw. Recyclingkonzepte zu etablieren und generell Reduktionen bei Ausschuss und Stillstandzeiten in der Produktion zu gewährleisten.

Das RCPE ist das weltweit führende Forschungszentrum im Bereich der pharmazeutischen Prozess- und Produktentwicklung. Ziel ist die Entwicklung neuester Herstellungsmethoden für Medikamente.

Repairtecture fokussiert auf innovative Simulationsansätze, Materialien, Design und Verbindungskonzepte für die Schaffung einer Kreislaufwirtschaft für polymerbasierte Produkte und Verbundmaterialien, die ihre Funktion, Eigenschaften und Attraktivität über eine verlängerte Lebenszeit beibehalten.

Das COMET-Modul Twin4Pharma – Digitale und Grüne (Twin) Transformation der pharmazeutischen Produkt- und Prozessentwicklung wird eine digitale Plattform schaffen, die weit über den aktuellen Stand der Datenverarbeitung und -analyse in der Pharmaindustrie hinausgeht.

Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie und Tourismus