How can Europe remain competitive in a time shaped by rapid technological change, geopolitical uncertainty and accelerating industrial transformation?
That question brought together leaders from industry, academia and public funding organisations at Chalmers University of Technology for the seminar Collaboration for Breakthrough: New technologies transforming the manufacturing industry. Across discussions on electrification, aerospace, AI, advanced manufacturing and industrial policy, one message emerged particularly clearly:
Breakthroughs no longer happen in isolation. Instead, they emerge where technologies, disciplines, organisations and people connect over time.
“Connecting the dots” became one of the defining themes of the day.
Europe’s challenge is no longer only innovation – but scaling
Michael Kyriakopoulos, Senior Expert Aviation Research Policy at the European Commission (DG Research & Innovation), described how Europe faces growing competitive pressure from both the US and China.
While Europe remains strong in research and technological expertise, the challenge increasingly lies in industrialisation, scaling and maintaining strategic capabilities within Europe.
“We have to connect the dots,” he said, referring not only to collaboration between countries, but also between research, industrialisation, financing and long-term capability building.
Several speakers returned to the same concern throughout the day: Europe often succeeds in developing technologies, but struggles to scale them at industrial speed.
Sweden’s strength lies in collaboration
Göran Marklund, Deputy Director General and Head of Strategic Intelligence at Vinnova, argued that Sweden’s competitive advantage is not only technological excellence, but also its collaborative culture.
Sweden’s innovation system, he argued, is built on trust, strong industrial ecosystems and close interaction between academia, industry and public actors.
At the same time, he stressed that transformation is becoming increasingly complex.
“Systems transformation is much more difficult than individual breakthroughs,” he noted.
The transition towards fossil-free industry, electrification and AI-driven manufacturing requires coordinated development across infrastructure, energy systems, regulation, skills and industrial investment simultaneously.
Several speakers also highlighted that technologies are no longer developing separately. AI, advanced materials, automation, energy systems and manufacturing are converging into interconnected industrial systems.
Partnership is the new leadership
For Volvo Group, collaboration is no longer a supporting activity – it is becoming a core industrial capability.
Paulina Ramfelt, Vice President Execution Electromobility at Volvo Group Trucks Technology, and Fredrik Agelén, Chief Programme Manager for the Mariestad Industrialization Program, described how the company is driving the transition towards fossil-free heavy-duty transport.
Volvo’s long-term strategy is built around “3 x 100%”:
100% safe
100% fossil-free
100% more productive by 2040.
The company has already moved from early hybrid research in the 1990s to large-scale production of fully electric heavy-duty trucks, with new vehicles reaching ranges of up to 700 kilometres.
At the same time, the speakers warned that Europe faces intense competition from China.
“The total battery electric vehicle market in China today is around 200,000 vehicles. In Europe, it is around 6,000,” said Paulina Ramfelt.
That difference creates major advantages in scale, investment capacity and industrial learning.
To strengthen European resilience, Volvo is now building a major battery cell production facility in Mariestad, Sweden. The production will be scaled in steps and is expected to eventually employ around 3,000 people and produce up to 300,000 tonnes of battery cells annually in its final step.
But the speakers repeatedly returned to one central point: no company can manage this transformation alone.
“Partnership is the new leadership,” Fredrik Agelén said, quoting Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt.
The transition requires collaboration across academia, suppliers, municipalities, startups, governments and energy providers. It also requires what Agelén called “production-ready talent pipelines” in areas such as chemistry, automation and manufacturing engineering.
Aerospace innovation happens across decades
Stefan Forsman, Technology Capability Portfolio Director at GKN Aerospace, offered another perspective on why long-term collaboration is essential.
In aerospace, breakthrough technologies often take around 15 years to move from early research to certified flight applications.
“We always need to work on all levels simultaneously,” he explained, describing how aerospace companies continuously operate across multiple technology readiness levels – from early research to industrial deployment.
Forsman highlighted additive manufacturing, composite structures and AI-supported inspection systems as examples of breakthrough manufacturing technologies now reshaping aerospace production.
But he also stressed that industrial innovation depends on large collaborative ecosystems.
“No companies can build these types of engines fully by themselves,” he said.
For GKN Aerospace, collaboration with universities is critical in early-stage technology exploration, while European partnerships are necessary to demonstrate and industrialise technologies at scale.
Research reduces the risk of transformation
Throughout the day, several speakers returned to the role of research not only as knowledge generation, but also as industrial risk reduction.
Ola Isaksson, vice director at Chalmers Production Area of Advance, described how universities can help industry address increasingly complex challenges by connecting expertise across disciplines.
“Research, when it works at its best, generates knowledge that de-risks investments in new technologies,” he said.
That ability to connect competencies – from production engineering and chemistry to management and AI – was repeatedly highlighted as one of Chalmers’ strengths as a collaborative partner.
A shared conclusion
Despite different perspectives, from EU policy and national innovation strategy to heavy vehicles and aerospace manufacturing, the speakers converged around the same fundamental insight:
Future breakthroughs will depend less on isolated inventions and more on connected ecosystems.
Europe’s future competitiveness will require:
long-term investment
industrial scale-up capacity
stronger collaboration across sectors
faster implementation of new technologies
and shared strategic direction.
Or, as several speakers effectively demonstrated throughout the day:
Breakthroughs happen when research, industry, policy and talent move in the same direction.
- Styrkeområdesledare, Supply and Operations Management, Technology Management and Economics