This has highlighted at the Eurecat 2026 Congress, which today brought together more than 300 senior executives to address how industrial innovation is key to transforming knowledge into competitive industrial capabilities of our own, in a context marked by geopolitical changes, technological acceleration and global competition.
To face these challenges, “we need long-term vision, leadership and effective collaboration between the different agents in the ecosystem,” stressed Eurecat’s President, Daniel Altimiras. In his opinion, industrial and technological sovereignty “is not built in isolation, but by pooling capabilities and forging partnerships”, at a time when it is important to seize “the opportunity to make Catalonia one of the main European hubs for technological innovation, talent attraction and productive investment.”
In the words of Eurecat’s Director General, Xavier López, “a region with a competitive and technologically advanced industry is a better place to live; it is more competitive, more resilient, generates more progress and distributes its benefits more equitably, both socially and across regions.”
For his part, the Secretary for Business and Innovation and CEO of ACCIÓ, Jaume Baró Torres, who took part in the congress’s closing session, highlighted that “true value is generated when research crosses the laboratory door and reaches the factory floor. Research without practical application remains on barren ground, but industry without research is destined for stagnation. They are two worlds that are destined to understand each other, and it is precisely here that Eurecat’s role becomes a first-class strategic asset.”
In this regard, Baró reaffirmed that “Eurecat acts as this great catalyst, as the bridge between science and business, understanding the language of business and the urgencies of competitiveness”, and highlighted the support the organisation receives from ACCIÓ and the Government of Catalonia in line with the “Business Innovation Strategy 2026-2030 approved a few months ago.”
The Eurecat Congress addressed how the convergence of physical artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, data and industrial cybersecurity is redefining the ability to design and operate factories, machines and infrastructure with greater autonomy, reliability and control, in a roundtable discussion moderated by Eurecat’s Director of Research and Technology, Myriam García-Berro, and featuring Ramón Fernández, Director of Cybersecurity at Ebro Motors Group; Judith Viader, Managing Director of Frit Ravich; Mario Monfort, Chief Operating Officer of Masats; and Joan Folguera, Managing Director and President of Ingroup (Invelon).
European sovereignty in physical artificial intelligence was the focus of another roundtable discussion featuring Gorka Unamuno, Head of Innovation and Strategic Alliances at Multiverse Computing; Carlos Méndez, President of the Spanish Robotics Association; Mar Masulli, Managing Director of BitMetrics; and Jorge Juárez, Director of Innovation at Grupo Antolín. The session, moderated by Eurecat’s Director of Robotics and Automation, Daniel Serrano, also included the presentation of a strategic case study by Simona Neri, Head of Innovation for Robotics and Automation at Eurecat.
From Validated Solution to Industrial Capability
The congress also featured a panel discussion focused on how to turn a technologically validated solution into an industrial capability. Participants included Joan Vidal, Managing Director of Rotimpres and founder of Thinex; Albert Domingo, Director of Implementation and Technical Services at Factorial; Iván Rodero, Director of Innovation at Open Chip; and Antoni Aloy, Partner at Nagarro Spain. The session was moderated by Eurecat’s Director of Markets, Roger Font.
Also speaking at the Eurecat Congress were the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism of Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls, and the Director of Investments at CriteriaCaixa, Felipe Matías. Likewise, ACCIÓ’s Executive Director, Joan Romero, and Eurecat’s Director of Corporate Affairs and R&D&I Policies, Joan Guasch, held a dialogue in which they analysed how to transform technological development into proprietary, differentiated and scalable industrial capabilities.
