Roundtable on Opportunities for EU-India Collaboration for Twin Transition

Abstract

The roundtable convened senior leaders from the EU, India, and leading multinational firms to map concrete pathways for “twin transition” – the simultaneous pursuit of digital transformation and sustainability. After setting the strategic context of the newly signed EU‑India free‑trade agreement, participants shared sector‑specific AI use‑cases, discussed policy‑level initiatives (digital identity wallets, AI‑super‑computing collaborations), highlighted the critical role of trustworthy, ethical AI and energy‑intelligent infrastructure, and fielded audience questions on scaling AI for SMEs and edge‑computing. The session concluded with a structured “BRILLIANT” framework summarising the collective vision for a trusted, inclusive, low‑carbon, and resilient EU‑India partnership.

Detailed Summary

• Contextualisation – Sonia welcomed participants, noting the recent EU‑India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by President Ursula von der Leyen and highlighted that the roundtable was part of the AI Impact Summit.
• Purpose – Emphasised the need to translate the FTA into practical AI‑driven twin‑transition actions, especially for SMEs.
• Logistics – Introduced the FEBI President, Jürgen Westermeyer, and announced the pending arrival of Roberto Viola (EU Commission).

2. FEBI President’s Address (Jürgen Westermeyer)

• Industry Lens – Aviation – Framed AI and sustainability as an “orbital shift” for Airbus, stressing that AI is an augmentative, human‑centric tool, not a replacement.
• Concrete AI Deployments –
  • Predictive maintenance, logistics optimisation, and a Smart Engineering Assistant that supports 14,000 engineers.
  • Skywise platform – delivers ~€200 million annual savings for airlines via predictive maintenance.
• Sustainability Narrative – Argues that technology alone is insufficient; the true metric is net‑zero impact embedded from design onward.
• India‑Specific Opportunities – Cited Delhi’s air‑quality challenges, abundant agricultural stubble and engineering talent as a basis for sustainable aviation bio‑fuels and circular‑economy pilots (e.g., “Gatti Shakti” project to collect stubble instead of burning).
• Call‑to‑Action – Invited European companies to join FEBI and collaborate on sector‑specific AI‑sustainability projects.

3. EU Commission Outlook (Roberto Viola)

3.1 Short‑Term (0‑12 months)

• Digital Identity & Trust – Signed an e‑signature mutual‑recognition agreement with India’s METI.
• European Business Wallet – A digital‑trust platform for company identity, timestamping, and contractual proof; first step achieved via mutual e‑signature recognition.
• Interoperability Tests – Conducted successful trials between India’s Aadhaar wallet and the forthcoming European Digital Wallet, ensuring citizen‑to‑citizen and business‑to‑business seamless interaction.

3.2 Medium‑Term (1‑3 years)

• AI & Super‑Computing Collaboration – Existing EU‑India super‑computing partnership already tackling climate and disease modelling.
• AI Cooperation Framework – Targeted joint projects in healthcare, industry, aerospace, material science, and pharma.
• European AI Challenges – Launched multiple calls to involve European and Indian startups in a shared AI‑development model, emphasizing inclusive participation and cost‑effective sustainability.

3.3 Long‑Term (3‑+ years)

• Full Knowledge Interoperability – Vision of a single digital‑trust ecosystem where AI models, data, and super‑computing resources are shared openly across borders.
• Policy Alignment – Promote harmonised AI regulations, open‑source models, and joint standards for green AI and ethical data use.

4. SAP on Twin Transition (Clas Neumann)

• AI‑First Strategy – SAP is moving beyond “digitalisation” to an AI‑first operating model.
• Green Ledger Concept – Proposes a financial‑level “green ledger” that quantifies and reports sustainability metrics in a standardised, cross‑border manner (India ↔ EU).
• Three‑Step AI Utilisation –
  1. Measure – Deploy AI‑powered sensors/software to collect data.
  2. Analyze – Use AI to derive actionable insights.
  3. Optimise – Automate improvements.
• Regulatory Landscape – Calls for global AI standards to avoid fragmented national regulations, noting the security and national‑interest sensitivities.
• Sustainable AI Infrastructure – Highlights the massive energy footprint of AI data‑centres (e.g., U.S. AI data‑centre consumption ≈ Africa’s total electricity in four years). Underlines the need to optimise models and hardware to cut energy use by up to 90‑95 %.

5. Schneider Electric – Energy Intelligence (Olivier Blum)

• Foundational Problem – Power Access – Reinforces that global power access remains a critical bottleneck; AI cannot solve problems without adequate, clean energy.
• AI Factories & New Power Architecture – Describes the shift from 10‑40 kW rack density (traditional data‑centres) to 150 kW–1 MW AI‑focused racks; introduces 800 V DC architecture as next‑gen power delivery.
• Energy‑Demand vs. AI Supply – Emphasises that AI’s compute appetite outpaces current supply, requiring new grid‑digitisation and intelligent demand‑response.
• Energy‑Intelligence Vision – Proposes AI‑enabled home energy management (e.g., 20‑30 % residential savings via smart panels).
• India’s Competitive Edge – Highlights India’s large pool of power‑automation engineers, software talent, and climate‑driven urgency, stating “crack the code in India, you crack the code for the planet.”

6. Ericsson on 5G & AI (Magnus Ewerbring)

• 5G as AI Enabler – Positions mobile networks as a necessary substrate for AI‑driven services.
• India’s 5G Landscape – Credits Reliance Jio and AT&T (typo in transcript) for delivering robust 5G infrastructure.
• Sectoral Use‑Cases –
  • Public Safety – Body‑cam streams via 5G for real‑time evidence.
  • Logistics – Real‑time container tracking in ports.
  • Manufacturing – 5G‑connected automatic screwdrivers that log each bolt for predictive maintenance.
  • Healthcare – XR‑assisted surgery (digital twins, real‑time imaging) reducing operation time by 20‑30 %.
• Future Vision – Anticipates AI‑augmented AR/VR glasses that provide real‑time translation and contextual information, contingent on ubiquitous 5G coverage.

7. Merck Life Science – Industrial AI & Bioconvergence (Christian Wickert)

• Bioconvergence – Integration of biology, chemistry, data science, and AI to transform biotech.
• Industrial AI Focus – Argues that large‑scale AI models (LLMs) are less impactful than domain‑specific industrial AI.
• AI‑Driven Drug Discovery – Introduced Cynthia and Edison – AI models that design molecules and accelerate discovery, enabling AI‑driven drugs in clinical trials (2022‑2026).
• Digital Lab & Autonomous Operations – Fully digital lab in Billerica moving towards autonomy.
• Syntropy JV (with Palantir) – Building a trusted data layer that protects IP and cybersecurity, fostering data sharing across biotech partners.
• Smart Manufacturing & Digital Twins – AI‑enabled smart factories and digital twins to improve efficiency and sustainability.
• Sustainable HPC Centre – New Munich high‑performance computing centre powered 100 % by renewable energy, using NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs.

8. Panel Reflection – Trust, Ethics, Cyber‑Security

• Trust as Central Pillar – The panel collectively underscored that technical excellence means little without trust from customers, governments, and societies.
• Cyber‑Security – Emphasised robust security as a prerequisite for trustworthy AI; a breach would erode confidence.
• Ethics‑by‑Design – Mentioned SAP’s Digital Ethics Advisory Panel and a code of digital ethics that guides AI product development across jurisdictions.
• Regulatory Alignment – Calls for harmonised standards to avoid a patchwork of national rules, facilitating cross‑border collaboration.

9. Audience Q&A

Question	Speaker	Core Answer
Hexagon (Pramod Kaushik) – How can AI be deployed for both large enterprises and MSMEs?	Pramod Kaushik	Described humanoid robots for complex, hazardous tasks in large factories; for MSMEs, presented an AI‑driven CAM programming system that learns from historic tool‑paths, offering fast ROI on multi‑axis CNC machines.
NXP (Ajit Mekhot) – How does NXP add value with AI on the edge?	Ajit Mekhot	Explained NXP’s mission to bring intelligent systems to the edge, reducing power demands (microwatts‑tens of watts). Cited Ocean‑cleanup AI (partner Ozone) and smart‑agriculture solutions that optimise fertilizer use, highlighting low‑power AI as both environmentally and economically beneficial.

10. Closing Wrap‑Up (Lavneesh Shana)

• “BRILLIANT” Framework – Introduced an acronym summarising the collective vision:

Letter	Meaning	Illustration
B – Benchmarking – Align EU regulatory frameworks with India’s digital scale to create global interoperable standards.
R – Responsible Resilience – Build ethically‑sound AI‑driven supply chains (referencing Airbus design‑stage sustainability).
I – Innovation Impact – Highlight sector‑specific AI use cases (e.g., Ericsson’s 5G, Merck’s biotech).
L – Leverage R & D – Joint research and development across borders.
L – Low‑Carbon Ledger – Measure “green” financials alongside traditional metrics.
I – Inclusive Interoperability – EU‑India digital identity and industrial identity integration (short‑, medium‑, long‑term plans).
A – Accelerating Action – Industrial AI as the vehicle to speed up net‑zero transitions (echoing Schneider’s “energy‑intelligence”).
N – Net‑Zero Networks – Emphasised the synergy: AI needs energy; energy needs intelligence (Schneider).
T – Trust‑Based Transition – Central role of trust, ethics, and cybersecurity (panel consensus).

• Vision Statement – “From Bharat Mandapam a vision can take flight; where green goals and digital power unite, India’s scale and EU’s clarity forge a sustainable future.”

11. Transitional Close

• Group photograph was taken; brief announcement of the upcoming session (not part of the substantive discussion).

Key Takeaways

• Strategic Alignment – The newly signed EU‑India FTA provides a political foundation, but concrete AI‑driven twin‑transition actions are required to realise economic and sustainability gains.
• Digital Trust Infrastructure – Mutual e‑signature recognition and the European Business Wallet are the first building blocks for a cross‑border digital‑trust ecosystem.
• AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement – Across Airbus, SAP, and Merck, AI is positioned as a human‑centric augmentation tool that accelerates processes while preserving expertise.
• Sustainable AI & Energy – The energy footprint of AI is a critical concern; Schneider and SAP stress the need for green data‑centres, 800 V DC power, and AI‑optimised hardware to curb consumption.
• 5G & Edge Computing – Ericsson and NXP underline that robust 5G networks and edge‑AI are essential for low‑latency, low‑power AI applications in sectors from public safety to agriculture.
• Industrial AI Impact – Merck demonstrates tangible progress with AI‑driven drug discovery and digital labs, forecasting AI‑enabled clinical trials within the next few years.
• Trust, Ethics, Cyber‑Security – Uniform ethical frameworks and strong cybersecurity are seen as non‑negotiable prerequisites for cross‑border AI adoption.
• SME Inclusion – Hexagon highlighted the necessity of cost‑effective, scalable AI solutions for India’s large MSME base, leveraging AI‑driven robotics and CAM optimisation.
• BRILLIANT Framework – The panel distilled its collective vision into the BRILLIANT acronym, covering benchmarking, responsible resilience, innovation impact, low‑carbon ledgers, inclusive interoperability, accelerated action, net‑zero networks, and trust‑based transition.
• India’s Strategic Advantage – Its massive engineering talent pool, software expertise, and urgent climate challenges position India as a key laboratory for testing and scaling EU‑India twin‑transition initiatives.

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Prepared by an AI‑driven summarisation system, based on the verbatim transcript of the roundtable held in Delhi, 24 February 2026.

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