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CirCon
© AIT/Jaqueline Eder
AIT conference brings together politics, business and research at the Vienna Museum

With CirCon 2026 – Circular Construction, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology has established a central platform for exchange on the circular construction industry. Around 120 representatives from politics, business, research, and civil society gathered today at the Vienna Museum to discuss concrete ways out of the linear construction industry and to highlight practical solutions for a resource-efficient transformation of the sector under the motto "Circular Construction – Opportunities. Innovation. Practice." to discuss concrete ways out of the linear construction industry and to identify practical solutions for a resource-efficient transformation of the sector.

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CEScaleUP research project
© TU Wien
Research project paves the way for resource-efficient construction

In the CEScaleUP research project, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, together with the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), the Research Association of the Austrian Building Materials Industry (FBI) and Meixner ZT, is developing a digital ecosystem that promotes the sustainable use of building materials and facilitates the recycling of components. Given the goal of renovating around half of Austria's building stock by 2030, innovative concepts such as urban mining and the digital circular economy are indispensable. This is exactly where CEScaleUP comes in, providing key solutions for the transformation of the construction industry.

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AIT and Takeda win the DECA Award 2025 Industry
© DECA_Peter Griesser

The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and Takeda were presented with the DECA Award Industry 2025 at the Energy Efficiency Congress for the pioneering NEFI project AHEAD (Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator). The award recognised in particular the technological innovation of the industrial high-temperature heat pump demonstrator, which enables CO₂-free steam generation in pharmaceutical production and thus sets new standards for sustainable industrial processes.

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City of Lienz
© Stadt Lienz/Brunner Images

The city of Lienz and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology have been awarded the prestigious ÖGUT Environmental Prize in the category "Sustainable Municipality". The award recognises their joint commitment to holistic, scientifically sound and future-oriented urban development, which is consistently geared towards making Lienz climate-neutral by 2040.

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City Intelligence Lab at Smart City Expo Barcelona
© AIT

From 4 to 6 November 2025, AIT will present its latest tools for quantifiable sustainability assessments and variant comparisons, as well as innovative digital tools from the City Intelligence Lab at Smart City Expo Barcelona. In urban and neighbourhood development, these digital tools make complex planning and urban development measurable, comparable and understandable. With clear assessments and interactive dashboards, decisions can be made based on facts for greater sustainability, energy efficiency, resource conservation and climate resilience.

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New test benches enable realistic tests up to 100 kW heating capacity and strengthen Austria's role as a location for innovation in climate-neutral heating technologies.

On 13 October 2025, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology officially opened Austria's most advanced heat pump laboratory, providing important impetus for the decarbonisation of the heating sector. High-tech test benches allow heat pump systems with a heating capacity of up to 100 kW to be tested under realistic conditions. The new laboratory offers customers from industry and partners from research ideal conditions for the development and optimisation of efficient systems. The AIT thus underlines its central role in the development of new technologies and strengthens the innovation ecosystem of research and industry in Austria.

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IEEE SMC 2025 in Vienna brings together leading international experts from research, education and practice – under the motto ‘Navigating Frontiers: Smart Systems for a Dynamic World’, the focus is on interdisciplinary exchange on the latest developments.
© AIT/ Dénes Erdős
A global platform for artificial intelligence, cybernetics and systems science

The four-day conference is one of the world's leading platforms for interdisciplinary exchange in the fields of cybernetics, human-machine interaction, and systems science and engineering. The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology – together with Óbuda University (Budapest) – is an organisational partner and plays a key role in the scientific and strategic design of the conference. With over 2,100 submissions from around 60 countries, the conference in Vienna sets a new record in the history of IEEE SMC, which has been held annually at different international locations since 1971.

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CirCon 2026
© AIT
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is hosting the CirCon 2026 at the Vienna Museum on 26 January 2026.

The conference is dedicated to finding solutions to the key challenges of the circular economy in the building sector and brings together experts from research, business and politics. Keynotes, panel discussions and other interactive formats will shed light on current developments and future prospects. 

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Official go-live of AHEAD (Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator) took place at Takeda in Vienna
© Takeda Fotograf: Gregor Schweinester
The project is carried out by Takeda in collaboration with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, highlighting the importance of cooperation between industry and research institutes.
  • Official go-live of AHEAD (Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator) took place at Takeda in Vienna
  • With AHEAD, Takeda is creating an environmentally friendly solution for CO₂-free steam generation for industrial processes that is unique in its form.
  • AHEAD is the first industrial application of this innovative high-temperature heat pump system using 100% natural refrigerants.
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