Christiane Egger is the manager of the Oekoenergie-Cluster (OEC), the Sustainable Energy Cluster of Upper Austria. She is also deputy manager of the OÖ Energiesparverband, the energy agency of Upper Austria and conference director of the major annual international conference World Sustainable Energy Days. In 2014, Christiane Egger was a runner-up (second place) for the European Cluster Management Award.

Business delegation from North America visiting Upper Austria

Short introduction of the cluster

The Oekoenergie-Cluster (OEC) is the network for energy efficiency and renewable energy businesses in Upper Austria. The network, which was founded in 2000, currently consists of more than 175 Upper Austrian companies with over 9,400 employees a combined annual turnover of 2.3 billion Euros.

Why international cluster cooperation is important for you

Supporting cluster companies in entering global markets is a key action field for our cluster. Working together with clusters from other EU countries in tackling new markets helps us to support European technology cooperation, achieve critical mass and save resources for implementing internationalisation activities. The collaboration with clusters and technology specific networks in target countries ensures up-to-date market information and access to the right business partners for our cluster companies.

An example of successful cooperation

The OEC, the Basque Energy Cluster and EnergyVaasa formed a European Strategic Cluster Partnership to tackle Latin and North American markets together. A key target country for the OEC is the United States. In order to further business and policy collaboration, the region of Upper Austria signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Vermont as a gateway to the North-East of the US. 12 companies from Upper Austria have started to do business there, with more to follow in the coming years.