The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Wrocław University of Science and Technology (Wrocław Tech) have signed a PLN 150 million finance contract. This is the first part of financing approved by the Bank for the project, which may reach a total of PLN 600 million. The funds will support the development of Wrocław Tech Innovation Park LEM (Life, Energy & Materials), a network of new and modernised research, teaching and innovation centres equipped with advanced scientific infrastructure.

The total value of the project exceeds PLN 1.3 billion. The EIB may provide up to PLN 600 million, including PLN 150 million covered by the contract already signed and up to PLN 450 million that may be made available under subsequent agreements. Wrocław Tech will provide the remaining more than PLN 700 million from its own resources, European Union funds and other sources of financing.

The EIB's long-term and flexible financing will allow the university to implement individual parts of the investment programme in line with their schedules and level of preparation. The financing is supported by the InvestEU programme and contributes to the TechEU initiative, which aims to strengthen Europe's technological potential, innovation and competitiveness.

"Wrocław Tech's new technology park will strengthen research capacity in life sciences, energy and materials, while also creating new opportunities for cooperation between science and industry. Supporting the development of top-class research and teaching infrastructure is fully aligned with the EIB Group's strategic mission. We invest in new sources of economic growth and the strength of innovative industry, building Europe's economic competitiveness and societal resilience both today and in the future," says Marko Primorac, EIB Vice-President responsible for operations in Poland.

An integrated environment for research, education and innovation

LEM will not be a single building, but a network of interconnected research, teaching and innovation centres. Between 2025 and 2030, the project will deliver new facilities, modernise existing spaces and equip laboratories with advanced research infrastructure.

In total, the project includes 15 construction investments, 46,800 sq m of new or modernised space and the purchase of equipment for ten research centres. The largest new facility will be the Health Tech Synergy Hub, with an area of approximately 21,300 sq m, designed for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of engineering, medicine and biology.

The park will include, among others:

• life and health sciences infrastructure, including the Health Tech Synergy Hub and Medical Simulation Centre II;
• centres for microelectronics, digital and quantum technologies, including the Centre for Micro- and Nanoelectronics, Micro- and Nanosystems and Micro- and Nanoengineering, the Centre for Trusted Information and Communication Systems, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Applications, the Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies and the Computing Centre;
• infrastructure for research into materials, energy, climate and cities, including the Centre for Materials Engineering and Metal Forming, the Centre for Advanced Raw Materials and Energy Technologies, the Centre for Sustainable Development and Climate Protection and the Urban Innovation Centre;
• facilities for entrepreneurship, international cooperation and student activity, including the Academic Entrepreneurship Centre, the International Relations Centre - Academic Hotel, the Student Innovation Campus and the Model Workshop.

The first facilities, the Model Workshop and the Centre for Trusted Information and Communication Systems, are scheduled for completion in 2027. In 2028, the university plans to complete, among others, the Health Tech Synergy Hub and the centres for micro- and nanoelectronics, artificial intelligence and academic entrepreneurship. Further investments are expected to be completed in 2029 and 2030.

LEM infrastructure will be used by students, doctoral candidates and researchers, as well as companies, hospitals, public institutions and the university's international partners. The park is intended to facilitate joint research, the education of highly qualified specialists and the transformation of research results into solutions that benefit the economy and society.

"This is one of the largest development investments in the history of Wrocław University of Science and Technology. We are not building a collection of independent facilities, but a shared environment for research, education and the implementation of new technologies. LEM Park is an important element of the transformation set out in the Wrocław Tech Strategy 2023-2030 and is intended to enable us to conduct research on a scale comparable with leading European universities of technology," says Prof. Arkadiusz Wójs, Rector of Wrocław University of Science and Technology.

An investment pillar of the Wrocław Tech Strategy

The development of LEM Park is one of the key instruments for implementing the Wrocław University of Science and Technology Strategy 2023-2030. Its aim is to accelerate Wrocław Tech's development as a modern, multidisciplinary university of technology comparable with leading European institutions of this kind.

This transformation is already underway. In 2021, Wrocław Tech carried out a reorganisation that resulted in the creation of the largest faculty of information and communication technology in Poland. In 2023, it became the first Polish university of technology to establish a faculty of medicine from the ground up. Between 2023 and 2025, Wrocław Tech researchers secured the university's first three European Research Council (ERC) grants.

LEM will provide the infrastructure needed to continue this transformation. Shared laboratories and research equipment will reduce the fragmentation of resources, facilitate cooperation across disciplines and create the conditions for larger scientific and technological projects.

LEM and IDUB: complementary elements of Wrocław Tech's transformation

The development of LEM Park is linked to the research programme submitted by Wrocław Tech in the second competition under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education's "Excellence Initiative - Research University" programme (IDUB). The two initiatives complement each other, creating a coherent transformation programme for Wrocław Tech. LEM will provide the necessary infrastructure and technological base, while the activities planned in the IDUB application are intended to attract leading and early-career researchers, develop international partnerships, prepare major research projects, professionalise research support and accelerate the implementation of research results.

Wrocław Tech is therefore entering the IDUB competition not merely with a plan for future change, but with a transformation already underway, a signed agreement with the EIB and an investment programme worth more than PLN 1.3 billion.

A project aligned with European standards

The LEM project has undergone an EIB assessment covering feasibility, institutional readiness and environmental and social considerations. The Bank classified the project's environmental and social risk as low and confirmed that Wrocław Tech has the experience and governance structures required to implement it.

The new buildings will meet nearly zero-energy building standards, and in some facilities primary energy demand will be more than 10 per cent below the maximum level permitted by regulations. The investment will also generate long-term social and economic benefits by improving conditions for research, educating specialists and strengthening cooperation between science, business and public institutions.

The aim of Wrocław Tech's transformation is to increase its ability to attract international research leaders, build strong research consortia, participate in major European projects and compete successfully for ERC and EIC grants as well as other Horizon Europe projects.

Within the next few years, Wrocław Tech intends to build a sustainable system in which major scientific achievements are delivered on a regular basis, as they are at Europe's leading universities of technology.