Faced with competitive pressure, the EU is expected to announce its Digital Omnibus package tomorrow, the 19th November 2025. Its goal is to simplify the EU’s digital rulebook, reduce administrative burdens, and foster innovation, particularly for SMEs. Key expected measures include:

• AI Act Adjustments: Potentially delaying rules for high-risk AI systems and simplifying compliance requirements.
• GDPR Amendments: Proposing new lawful bases for processing sensitive data to correct AI bias and redefining what constitutes personal data, a move criticized by some as “sacrificing privacy” for AI development.
• Cookie Rule Changes: Aiming to reduce ubiquitous consent banners by allowing browser-based signals and other legal grounds for tracking.

However, the Omnibus package appears to be a regulatory tune-up rather than a strategic engine overhaul. It focuses on making existing rules more workable but does not fundamentally address the core reasons for the EU’s lagging position, such as the lack of a unified digital market or the ability to spawn globally dominant tech platforms.

Structural Barriers the Omnibus Doesn’t Solve

The EU’s challenges run deeper than regulatory complexity. The Digital Omnibus does not directly tackle several critical, structural weaknesses:

• Overwhelming Technological Dependence: The EU’s entire AI stack relies on non-EU technology. It depends on US-designed semiconductors, US cloud infrastructure (which powers an estimated 70% of European digital services), and US or Chinese foundational models. Building “AI gigafactories” is a long-term project that cannot quickly erase this dependency.
• Limited financial power & Investment Gap: The hundreds of billions in private US investment create a self-reinforcing cycle of innovation that the EU cannot match with public funds alone.
• Massive Energy & Infrastructure Demands: The vast computing power required for AI poses a major challenge to the EU’s energy grid, where capacity is already a concern, potentially becoming a primary bottleneck for growth.
• Severe Talent Shortage & Brain Drain: The EU faces a critical lack of AI specialists and experiences a continuous outflow of its top researchers and engineers to US tech giants, who offer better pay and resources.

It is worth noting that the EU retains one significant area of global leadership: regulation and trust. A Pew Research survey¹ found that a median of 53% across 25 countries trust the EU to regulate AI effectively, a higher level of confidence than placed in the US (37%) or China (27%). The AI Act is already becoming a global benchmark. However, while setting the rules of the game is powerful, it does not equate to winning the game itself.

Two Hearts in My Chest

These stark challenges, give me a sense of having two hearts in my chest. On one hand, I deeply understand the urgent need for the EU to cut red tape and foster innovation to avoid being left behind. The competitive pressure is real and immense. Yet, on the other hand, I see the necessity of robust, thoughtful regulation for AI systems. I would never want to board an airplane that did not conform to the strictest safety requirements, and I feel the same way about the AI systems that are increasingly woven into the fabric of our lives. This internal conflict mirrors the EU’s own dilemma: how to sprint forward in the global race without tripping over the essential guardrails of safety, ethics, and fundamental rights.

What to Watch Next

The Digital Omnibus is just the beginning of the EU’s response. To fully assess its potential, you should monitor:

• The “Sovereign AI” Push: Watch for progress on the EU’s plan to invest €20 billion in “AI gigafactories” and compute capacity.
• Transatlantic Relations: Observe whether the EU and US can move from friction to deeper technological cooperation.

In summary, while the Digital Omnibus is a welcome step for reducing bureaucratic burdens, it is not a silver bullet. Without addressing the fundamental gaps in investment, infrastructure, and global corporate champions, the EU risks remaining a regulatory powerhouse but a secondary player in the global AI economy.

Sources

A Giant Leap for Spaceplanes: How Computational Engineering and 3D Printing Are Unlocking SSTO Flight

Dubai, UAE / Changsha, China – For decades, the concept of a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle—a spacecraft that takes off from a runway like a plane and reaches orbit in one smooth, continuous ascent—has been the holy grail of aerospace engineering. The immense technical challenges have kept it largely in the realm of science fiction. Until now.

In a landmark collaboration, LEAP 71 and Farsoon Technologies have announced the successful creation of a large-scale hypersonic precooler, a critical component that brings the dream of practical, air-breathing launch vehicles tangibly closer to reality.

The Vision: Winged Spacecraft and Air-Breathing Engines

The key to efficient SSTO flight lies in an engine that can “breathe” atmospheric air during the initial ascent, much like a jet engine, before switching to an onboard rocket propellant for the final push into the vacuum of space. This air-breathing phase drastically reduces the amount of heavy oxidizer a vehicle needs to carry, promising fully reusable, aircraft-like operations for space access.

“The dream of winged spacecraft has always hinged on propulsion systems that breathe air at hypersonic speeds before transitioning to rocket mode,” said Lin Kayser, Co-Founder of LEAP 71. “By combining Computational Engineering with large-scale metal Additive Manufacturing, we now have a shot at overcoming some of the most fundamental barriers to realizing that vision.”

Conquering the Hypersonic Furnace

The core of this breakthrough is the precooler, a 1.5-meter-tall marvel of engineering designed to tackle one of the most extreme problems in hypersonic flight: heat.

“At hypersonic speeds, incoming air can reach several thousand kelvins due to stagnation effects,” explained Josefine Lissner, Managing Director of LEAP 71 and Principal Architect of their Noyron system. “To manage these extreme temperatures, we implemented a fractal folding algorithm in Noyron to maximize the available surface area without compromising aerodynamic flow. The intertwined structure separates the superheated air from the liquid-hydrogen coolant, enabling rapid thermal exchange in a compact, manufacturable form.”

In essence, the system acts as a hyper-efficient radiator, cooling the scorching incoming air to a temperature the engine can safely handle, all while maintaining a lightweight and aerodynamically sound structure.

From Digital Blueprint to Physical Giant

Turning such a complex computational design into a physical object required equally advanced manufacturing capabilities. LEAP 71’s Noyron system generated the design, and Farsoon Technologies brought it to life on their FS811M-U-8 printer, one of the world’s largest metal Additive Manufacturing platforms.

The two teams worked in lockstep to fine-tune the manufacturing process, successfully producing one of the tallest metal powder-bed fusion parts ever built.

“This collaboration demonstrates how the convergence of large-format metal additive manufacturing and AI-driven design can redefine the limits of aerospace engineering,” said Oliver Li, General Manager of Farsoon Europe GmbH. “Farsoon’s open, industrial-scale LPBF systems empower partners like LEAP 71 to transform digital intelligence into tangible high-performance components — proving that innovation and collaboration are the true engines driving the next generation of space technology.”

A New Trajectory for Space Access

This achievement is more than just a technical milestone; it’s a statement of intent. The companies aim to reignite the discussion about reusable spacecraft and broaden the focus beyond the current paradigm of vertical takeoff and landing rockets toward a future of runway-launched spaceplanes.

See the Future in Frankfurt

The finished hypersonic precooler will be publicly exhibited for the first time at Formnext 2025 in Frankfurt, at the Farsoon booth (Hall 11.0, Booth E11).

About the Companies

About Farsoon Technologies
Farsoon Technologies, founded in 2009, is a global manufacturer and supplier of industrial-level polymer and metal Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) systems. With a vision to provide truly open and industrial additive systems, Farsoon is a leading supplier of AM technology in China with growing international reach. https://www.farsoon-gl.com

About LEAP 71
LEAP 71, strategically based in Dubai, UAE, is a pioneer in Computational Engineering. Its core technology, Noyron, is a Large Computational Engineering Model that autonomously designs physical objects by encoding logic, physics, and production methodologies. The company focuses on accelerating engineering across aerospace, electric mobility, robotics, and thermal systems, with a key goal of extending humanity’s footprint in space. https://leap71.com