acib GmbH sees itself as a bridge between academic research and industrial application. In order to realise groundbreaking innovations in industrial biotechnology, we use a dynamic financing model based on public funding and private partnerships.
Our funding partners and the COMET programme:
Our large-scale research projects are financed through a targeted combination of various funding channels. Our most important partners include:
- COMET programme: A central pillar of our work is the COMET programme (Competence Centres for Excellent Technologies), which is administered by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). This funding enables us to set long-term research priorities with international appeal.
- National level: In addition to the COMET programme as the central pillar of acib GmbH’s activities, we also make use of other research funding at the national level or participate as partners or contractors in nationally funded projects.
- Regional level: A significant part of our infrastructure and research projects is co-financed by the federal states of Styria, Lower Austria, Tyrol and Vienna, including within the framework of the COMET programme. This support strengthens regional centres of excellence and secures highly skilled jobs.
- European level: As an internationally networked centre, we are intensively involved in EU projects (e.g. Horizon Europe) to solve global biotechnology challenges together with partners from all over Europe.
- Operational funding: In addition, we make use of support for location and employee development, such as that provided by the AMS.
Partnership with industry
A key feature of our model is close cooperation with private industrial companies. These partnerships are crucial to the success of acib GmbH:
- Cooperative research: We focus on genuine partnerships. Our research projects are designed in collaboration with industry contacts, with co-financing from the private sector being an essential part of the project structure.
- Scientific independence: Despite its close cooperation with industry, acib GmbH retains its full scientific independence. Our researchers operate according to the principles of freedom of science and teaching. The objectivity of our results and scientific integrity are our top priorities and are not affected by any economic influence.
- Contract research: In addition to funded, cooperative projects, we carry out direct research contracts to solve specific technological problems efficiently, in a market-oriented manner and at the highest scientific level.
Strategic differentiation – focus on application
We occupy a clear position in the Austrian research landscape. While institutions such as the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) or the Christian Doppler Research Association (CDG) focus on pure basic research, acib GmbH concentrates explicitly on application-oriented research. For this reason, we do not claim any funding from the FWF or the CDG. Our goal is direct technology transfer to industry in order to transform scientific findings into marketable solutions and sustainable production processes.
Austrian Research premium
The research premium is an essential source of funding for acib to strengthen our application-oriented research portfolio in industrial biotechnology and is based on the provisions of § 108c Income Tax Act (EStG), the Research Premium Ordinance (FoPV) and the applicable Income Tax Guidelines 2000 (EStR 2000, in particular Rz 8209 ff to § 108c EStG) and the draft assessment of the Research Premium Guidelines 2025 (FoPR 2025) published by the Federal Ministry of Finance on 18 August 2025 and the future Research Premium Guidelines (FoPR 2026) from 2026 onwards.
When defining eligible research and development activities, we base our content on the OECD Frascati Manual (Frascati Manual 2015: Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development) and the relevant national guidelines, in particular the financial guidelines of the COMET programme for cash benefits. In cooperative projects – both within and outside the COMET framework – we stipulate in the contract which party claims the research premium for which expenses in order to ensure legal certainty, transparency and the avoidance of multiple applications.
As part of its COMET programme, acib GmbH applies for the research premium for those research services that are co-financed by industry partners in cash (‘cash benefits’) in accordance with the relevant tax regulations. In the case of in-kind contributions from national cooperation partners, we conclude legally binding agreements to ensure that bonus claims can be clearly assigned and that the same expenses are not claimed multiple times.
Even outside of COMET, we ensure that bonus eligibility is allocated clearly and fairly between acib GmbH and our partners. In all cooperative projects, we contractually stipulate which party applies for the research premium and which expenses are eligible, regardless of whether the cooperation is structured as a funded project or as contract research. In this way, we ensure transparency, legal certainty and compliance with tax and funding regulations and avoid any form of double funding.
The eligibility check, documentation and application for the research premium are carried out centrally and according to standardised internal processes in order to ensure traceability for tax authorities, funding agencies and our partners at all times. In this way, we make a responsible contribution to the efficient use of public funds and the sustainable financing of excellent industrial biotechnology research.
Transparency and accountability
The careful use of taxpayers’ money is our top priority. All public funding received by acib GmbH is documented in accordance with legal requirements and recorded in the Austrian transparency database. This transparency ensures that the public can always understand how public funds are being used to strengthen Austria as a location for innovation and to solve ecological and economic issues of the future.