Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing, has the potential to make European manufacturing more flexible, resource-efficient and competitive. Yet many promising technologies struggle to move beyond prototypes. High production costs, manual post-processing and limited market uptake continue to slow industrial adoption.
Funded under the I3 Instrument within strand I3-2021-INV1, the 3D Printing Optimised Production (3DoP) project brought together 33 partners from eight European countries to tackle these barriers. By combining technical innovation with investment support and interregional collaboration, the project helped transform research results into market-ready solutions, commercial products and new industrial partnerships.
Impact at a glance
- More than €42.5 million in follow-on investment, public funding, private investment and new sales linked to 3DoP innovations
- 2 products commercialised, alongside several validated industrial demonstrators
- 60+ SMEs engaged beyond the consortium through demonstration and support activities
- 10 industrial application sectors reached
From innovation to investment
One of 3DoP's greatest achievements was demonstrating that additive manufacturing can deliver tangible business value when technical development is combined with market activation.
The project generated more than €42.5 million in follow-on investment, significantly exceeding its original target of €10 million. This included new commercial sales, private investment, public funding and follow-up innovation projects that will continue developing and scaling the technologies beyond the lifetime of 3DoP. The project also supported 21 companies through two Demonstration Calls, providing access to pilot facilities, technical expertise, coaching and investment-readiness support to help accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing solutions.
Market-ready solutions
In metal additive manufacturing, partners worked on cost-effective printing techniques, repair strategies for high-value metal components and circular material use. One of the clearest results came from AddCat, which developed a new generation of industrial air purification systems using 3D-printed metal catalysts.
By redesigning the catalytic reactor through additive manufacturing, the solution requires up to 80% less catalytic material, reduces reactor size by 50%, operates at much lower temperatures (300–450°C instead of around 1,000°C), and enables the electrification of industrial air purification processes. Field tests demonstrated more than 99% removal of malodorous compounds, supporting the technology's commercial deployment.
Pilot system
The solution is designed for industrial facilities that need to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odours and other harmful emissions from their exhaust air before it is released into the atmosphere. In particular, the three main targets are the chemical industry, the food processing industry and solvent-intensive manufacturing companies (e.g. automotive paint shops and industrial coating operations).
In-house built reactor set-up
A second major contribution of 3DoP was its work on automation. In particular, AM-Flow and partners advanced automated post-production solutions for high-mix, high-volume additive manufacturing. The AM-Quality inspection system moved from TRL 6–7 to TRL 9 during the project. Commercial uptake followed: a Dutch AM service centre purchased AM-Flow’s AM-Quality and AM-Feed systems for around €380,000, while an Italian 3D-printing service provider invested around €1 million in two full AM-Flow production lines.
These examples show how 3DoP helped move additive manufacturing from isolated pilots towards more integrated, automated and investment-ready production environments.
Removing barriers to industrial adoption
Rather than focusing solely on developing new printing technologies, 3DoP addressed some of the main obstacles preventing additive manufacturing from being adopted at scale.
Across its four technical areas, the project improved cost-efficient metal printing, embedded electronics, automated dental manufacturing and factory automation for additive manufacturing. New pilot lines demonstrated how manufacturers can automate critical production steps such as quality inspection, sorting, handling and packaging, reducing manual work while improving efficiency, consistency and traceability.
The project also demonstrated more sustainable manufacturing approaches, including the repair of high-value industrial components instead of replacing them, the use of recycled metal powders and more localised production enabled by automated digital manufacturing. Together, these innovations contribute to reducing material consumption, waste and transport needs across industrial value chains.
Building (and strengthening) interregional value chains
The value of 3DoP was not only technological. The project also demonstrated how interregional cooperation can create new industrial value chains by linking complementary expertise across Europe.
Partners from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, Spain and Croatia contributed different capabilities, including research, materials, software, automation, demonstration facilities, regional development support and industrial end-use cases. This made it possible to test solutions in different environments and connect companies with partners they would not have reached alone.
Through its open calls, demonstration activities and investment-readiness support, 3DoP also reached companies outside the original consortium. This helped extend the project’s benefits to a wider group of SMEs and strengthened the European additive manufacturing ecosystem beyond the project partnership.
A springboard for future investment
3DoP shows how the I3 Instrument can help bridge the gap between innovation and industrial uptake. By combining pilot lines, technical support, SME engagement and investment activation, the project helped companies validate technologies, build commercial confidence and attract new funding.
The project’s legacy lies in the market-ready products it helped bring forward, the industrial demonstrators it developed and the interregional partnerships it created. More broadly, 3DoP illustrates how European regions can combine their strengths to accelerate the deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies, support SME competitiveness and contribute to greener, more resilient value chains.
