Pioneering work

Styrian Weiz turns wood into a superstar

Soon to be reality: wooden battery tray for a car

(Bild: TU Graz)

Wood is commonplace as parquet flooring, furniture, heat source and building material. In the Styrian town of Weiz, however, they are going one step further and using the raw material as lightweight hybrid components in mobility, plant construction and mechanical engineering. 

Wood is a sustainable CO2 store that also grows back. Austria is rich in this raw material. Until now, wood has mainly been used in the furniture industry. But in Weiz they are going back to the future. The first carriage was built from wood in the 15th century, as was the first automobile. Industrialization changed this, of course, and metals took over. 

For the first time, we are combining everything under one roof, from basic and applied research to a technical center and accelerator operation. With this pioneering center, we are opening up an essential field of research for the future and enabling completely new areas of application.

Bernadette Karner und Josef Stoppacher, Geschäftsführer Wood Vision

Mobile future based on wood
In times of climate crisis, it is of course important to rethink and innovate. For ten years now, pioneering work has been carried out in Weiz, Styria, with intensive research into how wood can be used in mobility, plant construction and mechanical engineering. "It can't be done" was the tenor of the experts at the beginning. How can combustible, splintering and dilapidated material be processed in such a way that it can actually compete with tried and tested materials? The breakthrough has been achieved at the Wood Vision Lab in Weiz. The plan for the future is for wooden parts used in cars, trains and airplanes to go into series production and become standard equipment. Possible applications include side impact protection for cars, car battery trays and chassis cladding for high-speed trains. And that is just a small excerpt from the product range. 

Gerd Holzschlag (Styrian Economic Development Agency), Heinz Mayer (Joanneum Research), Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, Provincial Councillor for Economic Affairs, Ingo Reisinger, Mayor of Weiz, Bernadette Karner (Wood Vision) and Martin Karner (Weitzer Group)

(Bild: Stadt Weiz)

To ensure that research can continue and implementation can actually take place, a fifth building is now being added to the existing innovation center, in which this high-tech innovation can be further refined. 16 million euros are being invested in this.