From AI Dependency to Industrial Sovereignty: Europe’s Physical AI Strategy

European Convergence Summit 2026

Overview

The European Convergence Summit (ECS) 2026 is a high-level, invite only, Chatham House rules convening of leaders from the EU institutions, European industry and relevant associations. 

The summit’s primary goal is to identify the requirements for a sovereign technology stack that secures Europe’s industrial future.
Europe’s economic security is currently tethered to foreign digital ecosystems. Trying to compete with global incumbents by copying their ‘brute force’, energy-intensive AI models is a strategic dead-end that deepens dependency. To secure its industrial future, Europe must execute a full technology stack differentiation strategy, pivoting from catch-up tactics to defining a new, superior standard for industrial intelligence.

Agenda

The ECS agenda focuses on two critical fronts for challenging established vendors: 

1. Technological sovereignty: Moving beyond the ‘black box’ to build a European AI Stack rooted in high-fidelity hardware and trustworthy software. This shift prioritises European enabling frameworks, efficiency, environmental constraints and robustness in deployment - areas where Europe can lead - over the raw parameter scale dominated by US and Asian tech giants.
2. Industrial competitiveness: Fixing the systemic fracture between European research and industry. By shifting from ‘technology push’ to ‘market pull’ and operationalising strategic private procurement, we can to build the lead markets necessary to keep IP and talent within the European economy and build new ‘Made in Europe’ industries.

Expert roundtable: From Dependency to Autonomy: Building the European AI Stack for Physical AI

The roundtable will examine how Europe can establish technological sovereignty through a differentiated AI strategy aligned with the ADRA’s Strategic Research, Innovation and Deployment Agenda (SRIDA) and the rise of Physical AI - AI systems capable of understanding and interacting reliably with the physical world.

Discussions will focus on:

• High-fidelity hardware and next-generation microprocessing;
• Trustworthy, explainable, and industrial-grade AI software;
• AI architectures that move beyond brute-force scaling and reduce hallucinations;
• Physical AI applications for manufacturing, robotics, infrastructure, mobility, and energy systems;
• Building sustainable and human-centric AI aligned with Europe’s industrial and environmental priorities;
• Creating strategic European footholds across the semiconductor and AI supply chain.

Format: Short interventions from leading experts and industry representatives from across strategic sectors such as manufacturing, mobility, industrial technology, aerospace, and others.

AGENDA IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE (Last updated: 19 June 2026)

Please note that this event is invitation only. 

For any enquiries, please contact: amaya@adr-association.eu.