The Austrian Blockchain Center (ABC) in Vienna has been approved by COMET (Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies) centers coordinated by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). 21 scientific institutions, 54 companies, 17 associate participants and 16 international institutions and companies are involved in ABC.
According to the release, the research center will focus on the Internet of Things (IoT), finance, energy, logistics and public administration applications.
Alfred Taudes, academic director and coordinator of the center, and head of the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, said that a multidisciplinary approach is “necessary for comprehensive research.”
The center will carry out research and development in five different fields; cryptography technology and security; cryptoeconomic modeling and blockchain applications for businesses; emerging industries and manufacturing blockchains; data science methods for blockchain analytics and predictions; and legal and political consequences.
The new research center is supposed to work in tandem with other COMET centers and blockchain international initiatives. The centers are funded by the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs. The ABC will also be supported by the Lower Austrian and Vorarlberg provinces.
The Austrian administration has been hands-on in its encouragement for blockchain activities and advancement of the technology. In September, the administration issued bonds worth $1.35 billion on the Ethereum blockchain. At the time, Austria’s Finance Minister, Hartwig Loeger, stated that the ministry is taking into account blockchain tech as it drafts a “focus on economic policy.”
Earlier this month, the Austrian government assisted a U.K. cancer research company that employs blockchain in its work. Lancor Scientific, which has created a tool to discover multiple kinds of cancer, stores screening results with smart contracts on a blockchain. The firm intends to open a research facility in the Austrian city of Graz.
