State Patent Award 2025 Wienerberger, Neworn, and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) receive awards
Minister Peter Hanke and Patent Office President Stefan Harasek presented awards for the best patent, the most creative brand, and the promotion of women in innovation.
On 2 October, the ‘Austrian Oscar for intellectual property’ was awarded for the fifth time
More than 300 submissions, nine high-calibre nominations and three brilliant winning teams: Austria continues to demonstrate its innovative strength and creativity even in economically challenging times – as the 2025 State Prize for Patents impressively demonstrated. In the patent category, the award went to Wienerberger, while the young company Neworn won the trademark category. The Matilda Special Prize for the promotion of women in innovation was awarded to the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna.
Peter Hanke, Federal Minister for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure, presented the trophies at the award ceremony in Vienna's Sofiensäle: „Behind every innovation are people with courage, creativity and vision. They work to make life better for all of us, and for that they deserve our highest recognition. The State Prize for Patents honours precisely these people.“
Patent Office President Stefan Harasek: „It was a big task for our jury to select the finalists from the many outstanding submissions. The selection they made covers the diversity of the Austrian invention and creative landscape. Wienerberger shows that the long-standing experience of traditional companies is a good breeding ground for new ideas. As a young start-up, Neworn represents a new generation of entrepreneurs with a fresh perspective on issues such as sustainability. And the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences proves how important Austria's universities are not only for technical progress but also for social progress.“
Sustainable solution for a traditional industry
In the patent category, Wienerberger impressed the jury with TOREtech, an energy-saving heating system for tunnel kilns in the brick industry. Firing bricks is an energy-intensive process – but thanks to the patent for the TOREtech burner, energy savings of up to 30 per cent can be achieved.
„We are very proud to have received the highest state award for a patent,“ said Johannes Rath, Chief Technology Officer at Wienerberger. „This award symbolises Wienerberger's innovative strength and will be given a special place in our entrance area.“
Creative brand management with social added value
The award for best brand went to Neworn, a company that operates a platform for second-hand children's fashion. The jury was impressed by the wordplay in the name – a combination of the terms „new” and „worn” that is reminiscent of „newborn”.
„For me, this award shows how much can come from a small idea, a brief flash of inspiration,“ said Caroline Schober, founder of Neworn. „We were the youngest team among all the nominees – and it is a great honour for us that our project is so highly valued.“
Pioneering role in diversity
This year's special category, ‘Matilda’, honours companies and institutions that are making structural changes to promote women in the field of innovation. The award went to the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, which plays a pioneering role in this context – not only in Austria's higher education landscape – and impressed the jury with its diversity strategy, among other things.
Eva Schulev-Steindl, Rector of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences: „This is a great success that shows that we have obviously done a lot of things right – especially when it comes to promoting young female researchers. This is exactly what the BOKU spirit is all about, and this award is a great incentive to continue on this path in the future.“
Top-class jury in three categories
In the patent category, the jury consisted of Henriette Spyra (Head of Innovation and Technology at BMIMI), Sonja Sheikh (Austrian Cooperative Research (ACR)), Eva Czernohorszky (Vienna Business Agency), Karin Tausz (Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)) and Horst Bischof (Graz University of Technology). Patents were evaluated according to originality, technological complexity, economic success potential and social significance.
The jury for the brands consisted of Monika Koller (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Sieglinde Martin (Vienna University of Applied Sciences), Jan Svenungsson (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Petra Trimmel (Kelly Snacks) and Vanja Bernhauer (Austria Wirtschaftsservice). The focus here was on creativity, uniqueness, use and brand message.
The Matilda category recognised targeted promotion of women, progressive organisational philosophy and the dismantling of role stereotypes. The evaluation was carried out by Birgit Niemeyer (Magenta Telekom), Sylvia Vana (Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism), Ali Mahlodji (futureOne), Begonia Merayo (Why Consult) and Helene Gressenbauer-Rösner (UN Women Austria).