From pilots to productivity: the Catalyst for AI and robotics
The Catalyst is a proposed, end-user-led European initiative led by Adra and Sprint Robotics that helps organisations adopt advanced AI and robotics faster and with less risk. It connects end-users (industry and public operators) with technology providers, SMEs and start-ups, integrators and researchers to focus effort on the highest-value, real-world problems - and to move solutions from promising prototypes to dependable deployment.
The initiative is endorsed by the European Commission and embedded in the EU’s Apply AI Strategy, which identifies Adra as the Catalyst’s primary implementing partner.
Why it is needed
Europe has strong industrial and research capabilities, but uptake of AI-enabled robotics is often slowed by practical barriers: high upfront cost and uncertainty, difficulty moving from “simulation to real” operations, lack of trusted performance evidence, interoperability gaps and vendor lock-in, and shortages in integration and operational skills.
What the Catalyst does
The Catalyst will act as a “super-integrator” that turns end-user demand into challenge-driven programmes with clear outcomes. In practice it will:
· prioritise high-impact use cases defined by end-users (for example, in manufacturing and other key sectors),
· run agile, milestone-based projects that can stop what is not working and scale what is,
· support testing, piloting and integration in realistic environments (including the use of digital twins and simulation where useful),
· encourage modular, interoperable solutions to reduce lock-in and strengthen European supply chains
Robot Skills Qualification Centres (RSQCs)
A core mechanism is a network of Robot Skills Qualification Centres. A “robot skill” is a reusable capability such as bin picking, precision placement, inspection, or safe collaboration with people. The centres will provide independent, standardised testing and benchmarking of these skills against criteria industry cares about, including:
· reliability and repeatability in realistic conditions
· safety and robustness for safety-critical settings
· performance benchmarks tied to operational value (not only academic metrics)
· interoperability and data handling needed for “plug-and-play” integration
By pooling evaluation effort, the centres will help end-users compare solutions, reduce procurement risk, and accelerate adoption - especially for SMEs that cannot run extensive in-house trials.
The goal of the Catalyst includes:
- Create a High-Velocity Innovation Ecosystem: Integrated and agile landscape where startups, SMEs, large industries, research institutions, work in a seamlessly orchestrated, mutually reinforcing manner.
- Establish Leadership in Physical AI: Secure a dominant European position in the strategic application of AI in the physical world, leverage the convergence of AI with robotics and other DeepTech; Ensure these human-centric systems are built on European data and reflect our values.
- Drive a Fundamental Cultural & Financial Shift: Move beyond the risk-averse mindsets that have stifled growth. Encourage academia to focus on value beyond research and motivate stagnant private capital to make calculated investments.
Who benefits
· Industry end-users: quicker time-to-value, clearer evidence of what works, lower adoption risk, and more choice through comparable, interoperable solutions.
· Innovators and integrators: clearer market pull, faster industrial validation, and a trusted route to qualification and scale.