Breaking the Wall of Europe's Unrealized Potential
From Scientific Breakthrough to Future-Proof Industrial Strength
Supported by the Boston Consulting Group
BCG’s Deep Tech Session at Falling Walls brings together leaders from business, science, and policy to address three structural barriers holding Europe back: the commercialization of breakthrough innovation, dependence on critical materials and supply chains, and the race for leadership in Physical AI.
Together, we will explore what it takes for Europe to build global champions, strengthen industrial resilience, and secure its position in the technologies shaping the next decade.
Plenary Table | From Lab to Leader: Scaling Europe’s Tech Champions
Saturday, 7 November 2026 | 10:00–11:00 | Room: Curie
Europe has the talent to lead the next tech era but lacks the system to scale it. The US has nearly 700 unicorns, Germany just 30 – not for lack of talent, but of committed early demand. The missing link: anchor customers from state and industry committing early via off-take and supply deals. This puts Europe back in the race for global tech leadership. At Falling Walls, BCG unites founders, deep tech investors and industry leaders to make the case for demand commitments as a key scaling lever.
Speakers:
Judith Dada, Visionaries
Florian Heinemann, Project A
Deepa Gautam-Nigge, SAP
Further speakers tbc.
Moderation:
Michael Brigl, Boston Consulting Group
Plenary Table | (Re-)Inventing Materials: Europe’s Mineral Sovereignty Path
Saturday, 7 November 2026 | 11:00–12:00 | Room: Curie
Europe has invested billions in diversifying critical mineral supply, recycling and circularity. Yet dependencies remain high and recycling isn’t scaling fast enough. Europe’s scientific strength could boost resilience and value creation by powering multiple paths at once: better extraction and use of local resources, greater circularity, recycling and efficiency, and materials innovation, including AI-discovered materials. What is the best path to make critical minerals less critical?
Speakers:
Horst Kreuter, Vulcan Energy
Alexander Schmitt, PowerCo SE
Juan de Pablo, New York University
Anke Weidenkaff, Technische Universität Darmstadt
Moderation:
Johanna Puetz, Boston Consulting Group
Alexander Meyer zum Felde, Boston Consulting Group
Round Table | Manufacturing Renaissance: Europe’s Physical AI Opportunity
Saturday, 7 November 2026 | 14:00–14:50 | Room: Curie
For decades, complex handling tasks resisted automation, pushing manufacturing toward low-cost economies. Physical AI now offers the opportunity to reverse this: it expands automatable work by up to 50% and cuts robot deployment costs by over half. If this wall falls, Europe has a narrow, historic window to rebuild its industrial base and compete on its own terms. At Falling Walls, BCG unites industry leaders, innovators and researchers to discuss how to deploy Physical AI on the shopfloor at scale.
Speakers:
Siegfried Russwurm, acatech – Deutsche Akademie der Technikwissenschaften
Kristina Wagner, OHB Bremen
Christian Brecher, Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie | IPT
Arne Nordmann, Neura Robotics
Moderation:
Tilman Buchner, Boston Consulting Group
