Barcelona is preparing to focus the European conversation on the additive manufacturing with the first edition of the Global AM Hubs Summit, an event that will turn DFactory into a hub for technology and Industry 4.0 for three days.
The organization confirms a program with Roundtables, presentations, live demonstrations and networking spaces, in addition to the launch of a European alliance that aims to accelerate the adoption of 3D printing across multiple sectors.
Dates, venue and scope of the meeting
The DFactory Barcelona, promoted by the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium (CZFB), will host the Global AM Hubs Summit from September 16 to 18, bringing together more than 20 hubs and international organizations alongside universities, associations, institutions and companies in the value chain.
With a program designed for the advanced industry, the meeting will address strategic axes such as People, planet and prosperity, with the aim of strengthening European industrial competitiveness and resilience through additive manufacturing.
Addliance: New European network of 3D printing hubs
The Summit will be the stage for the official launch of Addliance, a collaborative platform designed to link hubs and entities across the EU to share knowledge, boost projects and accelerate the adoption of AM solutions in the industry.
This network aims to articulate a stable and international cooperation framework in 3D printing, with the involvement of sectoral stakeholders, academic centers, and administrations, providing the ecosystem with a common voice in the face of major technological and economic challenges.
Program: presentations, panels and demonstrations
The agenda is structured in three days, with an optional day 0 and technical activities that combine strategic content and practical experiences in the Application & Technology Showroom of the DFactory.
Day 0 (September 15) starts with a informal dinner in the center of Barcelona, at the expense of the attendees, designed to facilitate initial contacts between delegations.
Day 1 (September 16) opens with an opening session and presentation of District 4.0 and DFactory itself. Addliance introduction It will be led by Magí Galindo, followed by a round of presentations from hubs such as FAME (Finland), Norwegian AM, 3DMZ (Netherlands), TAMA (Turkey), EASYHPC (Greece) and Andorra FabLab.
- Mid-morning, coffee and networking with access to the Applications and Technology Showroom.
- Thematic sections: public policies for AM; advocacy; sustainability, with voices from AMGTA, Materialize, HP AM, Danish AM Hub, More Than Layers, and WISE Additive.
- Interventions by Austria AM Hub and AMGTA, and a trends panel “What's Next in 3DP” with participants from FAME, Bambu Lab, Shining 3D and SiOCAST.
- Closing the day with demonstration sessions and an afternoon networking meeting, “Bizz & Fizz”.
Day 2 (September 17) begins with the welcome of Sascha F. Wenzler (Formnext) and new presentations: IAM3DHUB (Spain), IS3DTH, Swiss MAM and AM4Life, among others. The panels focus on health, energy, economy and academia, with representatives from MGA, Materialize, EOS, Wärtsilä, HP, IESE, Lubrizol, AMPOWER, Elisava, Tampere University and SCT.
- Break with networking and access to the showroom to see materials, software, and real-life use cases.
- Specific sessions: AM on medicine, energy, and economics, and a block on talent and training with IAM3DHUB, EOS, and universities.
- intervention of Women in 3D Printing (WI3DP) and closing of the day with a plenary session.
Day 3 (September 18) will be focused on Visits to centers of excellence and innovative companies in Catalonia, completing the journey from strategic discussion to implementation on the ground.
Who will be there: hubs and representative organizations
The summit will bring together for the first time in a single forum more than 20 European hubs and entities additive manufacturing, including IAM3DHUB (Spain), 3DMZ (Netherlands), FAME (Finland), Norwegian AM, TAMA (Turkey), France Additive, Danish AM Hub, Austria AM Hub, Swiss MAM or AMGTA, as well as technology companies and organizations from the entire value chain.
This mosaic of actors will allow us to contrast experiences, policies and standards, fostering cross-border synergies and shared projects with real industrial impact in sectors such as health, mobility, defense, energy, and sustainability.
Institutional voices
For the special delegate of the State in the CZFB, Pere Navarro, DFactory is the ideal place for this first edition, an event that is considered a “milestone” due to its capacity to articulate public-private partnerships and align a common vision of the transformative role of additive technologies.
The general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, emphasizes that the event consolidates the DFactory as reference 4.0 ecosystem and a true “cathedral” of industrial digital transformation in Europe, reinforcing Barcelona’s leadership in advanced manufacturing.
Logistics, location and registration
The headquarters will be DFactory Barcelona (27th Street, 10–16, 08040), within District 4.0 of the Free Trade Zone. The complex already operates with approximately 17.000m² and includes expansion plans of up to 57.000 m² in 2026, with the possibility of reaching 100.000m² in the medium term.
El AccessPass It is priced at €340 and includes access to conferences, round tables and showroom, networking breaks, lunches and digital materials after the event, a package aimed at making the most of the professional experience.
In addition to the technical content, the program includes institutional relations activities and tours of centers of excellence in the region, with the social dinner on day 0 as the first contact between participants.
The DFactory Application & Technology Showroom will allow you to see up close materials, software and success stories of AM, bringing technology closer to the design, validation and manufacturing processes under real conditions.
Reasons to attend
The summit is designed for technical, business and political profiles seeking connecting strategy, talent and practical demonstration in the same environment, with a high-level European network.
- Valuable content: from policies and standards to industrial applications.
- Qualified networking with hubs, startups, corporations, academia, and institutions.
- Unique context: DFactory as the European epicenter of Industry 4.0.
With a cross-cutting approach—people, planet, and prosperity—the Global AM Hubs Summit brings together the main players in the ecosystem and activates tangible collaborations to accelerate additive manufacturing, positioning Barcelona and the DFactory as key hubs for European industrial innovation.