Hamburg Science Summit 2024

Developments in recent years have raised doubts about Europe’s com petitiveness and technological sovereignty. In key areas such as artificial intelligence, digital services or semiconductors, Europe is lagging be hind its American and Asian partners. Even in markets with a tradition ally strong European share, such as the automotive industry, European players are struggling to meet the demand for innovation in battery technology or digitalisation. At the same time, the changing geopolitical environment has sparked concerns about supply chain risks and Europe’s dependencies on international markets. This raises the question of how Europe — including, but not limited to, EU member states — should strengthen its technological sovereignty.

Artificial Intelligence is a critical benchmark for Europe’s competitiveness and technological sovereignty. However, Europe faces challenges in de livering its own AI solutions, with Large Language Models being the most prominent example. European AI players have attracted significantly less funding than their American counterparts, and struggle with regulatory hurdles and limited data availability. As a result, Europe may not only fall behind in the global AI competition, but also fail to incorporate its norms and values into future AI systems. At the same time, Europe has strengths in basic AI research and a small but promising ecosystem of AI initiatives and start-ups. How can these strengths be further developed to create AI solutions that are both competitive and in line with Europe’s strategic interests and ethical standards?

Europe stands at a pivotal moment in shaping its innovation ecosystems. Despite progress through HorEurope is already replacing oil and gas with green technologies in the energy sector, with Germany as a prime example. However, Europe’s manufacturing sector is still very carbon intensive. For the manufacturing supply to become net-zero or even carbon negative, chemical products must be produced using non-fossil carbon sources. Carbon dioxide, biomass, and recycled materials are three complementary pillars to transform the current linear chemical industry into a resilient circular economy. The roundtable, organised by the Max Planck Society, will explore how “Green Chemistry”, including cutting-edge catalysis science, is already contributing to Europe’s prosperity today and what progress can be expected in the near future.

Decarbonising the energy system is a key part of the transition to sustain ability. In addition to scaling up green energy supply and infrastructure, affordable and efficient energy storage is essential to achieve Europe’s net-zero goals. However, Europe is struggling to keep up in battery tech nology and related areas of green innovation such as electric mobility, with delayed investment, lack of innovation, and insufficient manufacturing capacity being part of the problem. At the same time, the transformation of the energy system has created competitive disadvantages in energy prices, especially for German industry, and has created dependencies and supply chain risks for raw materials such as lithium or rare earths. If Europe wants to lead the green transition, how should it respond to these issues?

Patents play a crucial role in converting scientific research into com mercially viable products, and are greatly important as key assets for startups and investors. However, despite a strong foundation in scientific research, Europe is witnessing a gradual decline in its share of patent failings, particularly in the newest technological sectors. What strategic measures can be taken to enhance Europe’s performance in the global innovation arena? The roundtable, organised by the new Observatory on Patents and Technology of the European Patent Office, will foster a deeper understanding of effective IP management and discuss solutions to em power European innovators in the competitive global market for patents and technological advances.

How attractive are doctoral training and research careers in Europe for the X, Y and Z generations? What initiatives can we take to attract and retain the best talents in Europe? How can we improve doctoral training and career prospects to overcome issues such as precarity, the unidirectional brain drain within Europe, the relatively low salaries, and the constant publish or perish competition leading to poor mental health in academia? Organised by the Young Academy of Europe and involving representatives of all career stages — from doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to young principal investigators and senior high-profile researchers — the roundtable will discuss the situation of the future generations of the European academic landscape under the current conditions.

Medical research is at a turning point. The COVID-19 crisis has shown that Europe is capable of efficient R&I processes, with the mRNA tech nology being the most prominent example. Part of the success story has been increased cross-sector collaboration between academics, medical companies, regulators, and financial incentives provided by government and private actors. At the same time, the crisis revealed barriers to inno vation, such as poor availability and quality of health data, or problems in scientific and administrative infrastructures. This raises questions about the future of medical research in Europe: What breakthroughs can be expected from European medical researchers in the coming years? Is the COVID case a viable template for other R&I processes in Europe? And how can medical innovation contribute to Europe’s technological sovereignty without undermining global justice, particularly with regard to public health in the Global South?

With Europe facing significant challenges and yet nurturing the ambition to increase its competitiveness and sovereignty, the integration of scientific evidence into decision-making is critical. As problems become more complex and information more abundant, it is often hard to distinguish facts from disinformation, or evidence from mere opinion. This makes it demanding for scientific advisors to transfer insights from science into political and societal contexts. The roundtable, organised by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, will explore obstacles and best practices for producing, delivering, and taking up science-based advice. It will also delve into strategies for overcoming barriers to evidence-based policy and discuss how Europe can lead in grounding policies in robust scientific expertise.