Programme time: 14-Oct | 10:00 | 75 min
Room: D. Luis Room 

Moderator: Dr Hala Elrofai (Eindhoven University of Technology) 

Speakers

• Francesco Ferro (PAL Robotics)
• Sharath Chandra Akkaladevi (ProFactor GmbH)
• Rich Walker (Shadow Robots) - tbc
• ABB - tbc
• Szabolcs Szekacs (DG GROW, European Commission)

• Jordy Senden (TU Eindhoven)

   

Full description and objectives

Europe leads in Physical AI research, but the systems it wants to deploy at scale are built on supply chains it does not control. Advanced chips and edge processors, high-performance sensors, motors and actuators, batteries, rare-earth magnets and access to frontier models are all concentrated in a small number of countries and companies. Export controls, trade tensions and model access restrictions have shown how quickly these dependencies can turn into disruption, cost shocks or blocked deployments.

Resilience now also means market access. In July 2026, the US Federal Communications Commission added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices, including mobile robots, humanoids and quadrupeds, to its Covered List. As a result, new models produced outside the US can no longer receive the authorisation they need to be sold there. The measure is widely read as aimed at China, but its wording is country-neutral, so European manufacturers are affected too. They must either obtain a case-by-case Conditional Approval or relocate production and meet strict US domestic-content thresholds. 

Resilience and deployment are therefore two sides of the same coin: Europe will not scale Physical AI without secure supply chains, and it will not build secure supply chains without a large and growing European deployment market to sustain them.

Key Session Objectives

1.            Map critical dependencies: Use the Eindhoven workshop insights to identify the components, materials, compute and software layers where Europe's Physical AI supply chain is most exposed.

2.            Define supply chain resilience targets and discuss measurable indicators, such as the number of qualified suppliers for critical components, European share of key capacities, time needed to substitute a supplier, and access to open or European foundation models for robotics. Assess what trade measures such as the FCC Covered List mean for European manufacturers' export strategies.

3.            Design deployment pathways that build resilience: Identify how shared frameworks, testing and qualification infrastructures, and open standards can lower the cost of switching suppliers, speed up validation of European alternatives, and give SMEs more secure access to components.

Why you want to join?

Europe's ambitions in Physical AI and robotics depend on components, compute and models that are increasingly exposed to geopolitical pressure, export controls and concentrated global supply. The US FCC's July 2026 move to bar new foreign-produced advanced robots from the American market shows that supply chains now decide not only what Europe can build, but where it can sell. The session opens with feedback from the recent Eindhoven supply chain workshop organized by Embodied AI TG lead Hala Elrofai, TU/E, followed by a roundtable discussion with speakers from industry, research and policy. Key messages will feed into the SRIDA revision and FP10.

Running agenda

Contact person: Philip Piatkiewicz (ADRA)