While pursuing our transformation toward an integrated sustainable energy, fuels, and chemicals company, goal-oriented programs are driving innovation to improve existing production processes and develop new technologies, thereby enabling differentiation through value creation. OMV is focusing on developing technologies that directly contribute to our sustainability targets, as well as researching breakthrough, high-impact technologies to expedite its strategy implementation. The Company pursues innovation in-house and collaborates with numerous partner panels that include members from academia, private research institutes, and start-ups. It also has a balanced portfolio of technologies and products.
OMV Innovation 360 – an Integrated Approach
In 2025, OMV introduced OMV Innovation 360, a platform that consolidates all innovation activities across the Group. Its purpose is to accelerate innovation and to enrich internal capabilities by involving external cooperation partners to develop technologies that can be scaled and commercialized. The platform is built on four pillars:
- OMV Innovation Hub Vienna – the strategic engine for innovation planning.
- OMV Innovation Hub Schwechat – the technology accelerator for industrial-scale solutions.
- OMV Innovation Collaboration & Partnerships – the co-creation catalyst with start-ups, academia, and technology partners.
- OMV Innovators Network – the enabler of synergies and knowledge sharing across the Group.
A key milestone in 2025 was the start of construction of the OMV Innovation Hub Schwechat, located next to the Schwechat refinery. The hub will provide approximately 8,000 m2 of space for pilot plants, laboratories (including OMV’s first biotechnology lab), and modern workspace for innovators. Its proximity to OMV’s production facilities will enable faster conversion from technology innovation to commercial deployment. The OMV Innovation & Technology portfolio advances technologies that support the circular economy, alternative feedstocks, sustainable fuels, and new energy solutions.
IP and Licensing
OMV actively pursues intellectual property protection, including patent rights regarding technology innovation. Technology licensing drives the commercialization of OMV’s patented technologies. The goal is to foster the growth of licensed businesses and guide customers through the entire cycle, from acquisition to delivery and support. An example of potential licensing within OMV’s portfolio is ReOil®, OMV’s patented technology for the chemical recycling of post-consumer plastics.
Technology Innovation
Circular Economy
OMV’s proprietary ReOil® thermal cracking technology was developed to meet the European Commission’s targets for the circular economy and to fulfill future packaging recycling quotas. OMV and Borealis are pursuing the clear ambition of becoming a leading player in chemical and mechanical recycling technologies. OMV has acquired substantial operational experience with the chemical recycling technology ReOil® thanks to rigorous testing and piloting. Since the end of 2024, OMV has been operating a new plant with a nameplate capacity of 16,000 t p.a. at the refinery in Schwechat. The fully refinery-integrated chemical recycling plant for post-consumer polyolefins demonstrates the reliability of the OMV ReOil® technology and lays the foundations for further industrialization of this technology. ReOil® is scalable and can be seamlessly integrated into existing industrial setups, and in doing so leverages current assets.
Sustainable Fuels
OMV is advancing the development of sustainable fuel technologies, focusing on the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through HVO routes and exploring solutions for eSAF. Innovation activities aim to improve process efficiency and enable future scale-up to ensure a shorter time to market. To support these efforts, the Fuels Innovation Lab in Schwechat has been refurbished and equipped with advanced analytical tools, and bench-scale reactors will be placed in OMV’s mini plant area for process optimization and technology validation. Development work is carried out in collaboration with national and international partners, including research institutions, academia, and technology firms, to leverage expertise and foster joint innovation.
Biotechnology
Innovation activities applying biotechnological concepts are centered on feedstock resilience and diversification to secure competitive access to biobased and waste-derived carbon and energy sources. Development work includes enzymatic and microbial processes designed to produce renewable drop-in fuels and chemicals. These efforts contribute to broadening OMV’s product base and strengthening its position in emerging low-carbon value chains.
New Energy Technologies
In 2025, OMV made progress in the implementation of its decarbonization strategy through multiple technology milestones. The Carbon Capture Innovation Center (CCIC) commenced operations with a mobile, solvent-based pilot unit capable of capturing up to 1,000 t of CO2 annually, validating innovative CC processes like CoolSwingCC® for future scale-up. In June, OMV’s cooperation partner Hycamite started up one of Europe’s largest methane splitting demonstration plants in Finland, designed to produce up to 2,000 t of low-carbon hydrogen and 6,000 t of advanced carbon allotropes per year. To further strengthen its carbon valorization portfolio, OMV launched a second pilot in Austria in July, deploying Levidian’s LOOP technology to generate hydrogen and graphene, a high-value material that overcomes historic barriers to industrial adoption.
Applied Technologies
Energy
In the Energy segment, OMV is continuing its progress in innovation and technology to achieve its 2030 strategic energy targets. Global research and development (R&D) efforts are centered on four key areas:
- Cost-effective and sustainable production
- Geothermal and renewable energy
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
- Out-of-the-box innovation and new business models
These focus areas aim to deliver rapid, high-impact solutions that enable OMV’s effectiveness along all value streams, operational excellence, and support the transition to a low-carbon future. Efforts span the full spectrum of energy transformation, from optimizing mature assets to shaping next-generation energy storage. Initiatives include advanced geothermal applications, CCS, hydrogen generation, and renewables integration. Digital innovations like AI-driven subsurface workflows, including well placement in cooperation with Stanford University, emission control systems, and water treatment technologies ensure safe, efficient, and sustainable operations worldwide.
OMV’s specialized technology centers in Austria (Tech Center & Lab) and Romania (Upstream Laboratory, ICPT) serve as hubs for R&D. The leading locations for innovation and technology are Norway, Romania, and Austria. While Norway is focusing on subsurface innovation and low-carbon business solutions, Romania drives production optimization and renewable integration, serving as a testing ground for geothermal potential and thermal energy storage. In Austria, OMV leads large-scale programs in CC, hydrogen production (methane splitting), geothermal energy, and advanced subsurface modeling, supported by global research partnerships. Notable achievements include the successful Alkali-Polymer pilot injection in the Matzen field, covering subsurface, surface, and laboratory aspects for enhanced oil recovery. Moreover, a Mobile Flow Assurance (MoFlow) Bypass for fail-safe geothermal applications has also been rolled out.
Fuels
OMV actively explores alternative feedstocks, technologies, and fuels with the aim of developing a well-diversified, competitive future portfolio. Special attention is paid to the production of biofuels and synthetic fuels as future fuels for the hard-to-electrify part of the transportation segment, as well as to sustainable chemicals and green hydrogen. While the developed biogenic products will predominantly be sold as fuels initially due to a mandated market, they can also be used as chemical feedstock.
OMV commissioned the co-processing plant at the Schwechat refinery in mid-2024. The technology enables OMV to process biogenic feedstocks (e.g., rapeseed oil) together with fossil-based materials in an existing hydrotreating plant during the fuel refining process. This will reduce OMV’s carbon footprint by up to 360,000 t of CO2 per year by replacing fossil diesel. In 2025, OMV continued with the pilot production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from another co-processing route in Schwechat, and the conversion of biogenic feedstock into high-value chemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, and benzene, in the refinery in Burghausen.
In 2025, OMV started production of green hydrogen in its new 10 MW electrolysis facility (UpHy project) in Schwechat. The facility has a production capacity of up to 1,500 t of green hydrogen annually and is the biggest of its kind in Austria. Also in 2025, OMV made the final decision to invest a sum in the mid-hundreds of millions of euros in a new flagship green hydrogen plant in Bruck an der Leitha, Lower Austria, and broke ground. There, OMV plans to build a 140 MW electrolysis facility. With an annual production capacity of up to 23,000 t of green hydrogen, the new plant will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe. OMV expects to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 150,000 t per year.
Throughout 2025, OMV Petrom progressed well with the execution phase of a SAF/HVO facility and two facilities for green hydrogen. Construction activities for the SAF/HVO facility and the two green hydrogen units are advancing on schedule, supported by strong project management and collaboration with all stakeholders. OMV Petrom took the final investment decision to build these plants in June 2024, and they will be used in the production of biofuels. The investments for the SAF/HVO unit amount to EUR 560 mn. Starting in 2028, the plant will have a production capacity of 250 kt p.a. of SAF and HVO, as well as by-products like bio-naphtha and bio-LPG, which are used in the chemical industry. The high flexibility of the installation allows for the adjustment of the product mix according to market demand and the available feedstock mix. The plant will have an annual consumption of about 11 kt of hydrogen, most of which will be provided by the two new green hydrogen production units. The investment for the two green hydrogen units is estimated at around EUR 190 mn, of which up to EUR 50 mn is from European funds, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The two units will have a total capacity of 55 MW, with total annual production of green hydrogen estimated at around 8 kt. Integrating green hydrogen into sustainable fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, will result in at least a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to conventional fuels.
Chemicals
At Borealis, innovation is customer-centric and global in scope. More than 500 people are employed across three innovation hubs: innovation centers in Porvoo (Finland) and Stenungsund (Sweden), and the main innovation headquarters in Linz (Austria), where researchers recently spearheaded a breakthrough innovation in design for recyclability with Daploy™ High Melt Strength polypropylene (HMS PP). Borealis also operates Borstar® pilot plants for PE in Porvoo, and for PP in both Porvoo and Schwechat (Austria). Catalyst manufacturing plants in Linz and Porvoo are complemented by a pilot facility in Porvoo.
Consistently ranked among top Austrian innovators in the European Patent Index, Borealis continues to build on its large patent portfolio. In 2025, Borealis filed 115 new priority applications at the European Patent Office, versus 121 filed in 2024. As of December 2025, Borealis holds around 7,400 patents as well as approximately 3,200 patent applications, which are subsumed in around 1,500 patent families.
At Borealis, polymer solutions based on proprietary technologies such as Borstar® and Borstar® Nextension, and on technology brands like Borlink™, form the basis of material solutions that help the industry address urgent societal and environmental issues such as decarbonization, the green energy transition, and waste reduction. Borealis is steadily expanding its offer of advanced specialty polyolefins in order to capitalize on promising market opportunities in lucrative niche applications in renewable energy, mobility, health care, consumer packaging, and the circular sphere.
Several such breakthroughs were showcased at the K Fair trade show in October 2025. First, the groundbreaking Borstar® Nextension PE technology, which delivers superior performance and processability, and facilitates downgauging. It encourages design for recyclability by enabling the replacement of conventional multimaterial solutions with monomaterial ones. Three grades based on Borstar® Nextension PP were also relaunched: BorPure™ RE539MF, BorPure™ RB787MF, and Borealis HG485FB, each of which moves the health care industry closer to playing its part in hitting the PPWR target of 100% recyclable packaging by 2030. In the energy sector, the newly launched, three-layer cast polypropylene concept for polymer-aluminum laminate for lithium-ion battery pouch cells ensures safety, durability, and efficient processing.