As European industries face growing pressure to strengthen resilience, reduce supply chain risks, and meet sustainability objectives, additive manufacturing (AM) is emerging as a practical and strategic solution. Closely align with European industrial priorities, AM enables flexible production, localised manufacturing, and efficient use of resources. While the EU has supported AM through research and innovation funding, wider industrial adoption will require sustained investment, stronger collaboration, and a more coherent policy framework at both the EU and national levels. To address this need, CECIMO, the European Association for Manufacturing Technologies, together with nine national associations, has launched AM-Europe, representing over 700 companies across Europe. The initiative aims to give the AM sector a single, strong voice at the EU level, ensuring that its industrial potential is well understood, adequately supported, and fully integrated into European policymaking.
In July last year, AM-Europe published its Manifesto, setting out a clear policy vision for positioning AM as a core pillar of Europe’s industrial strategy. The Manifesto calls for coordinated action on standardisation, certification, and secure data management, alongside long-term investment in skills, research, and industrial-scale deployment.
As the United States and China invest heavily and strategically in AM, Europe risks fragmentation and slower industrialisation unless it matches this level of ambition. To unlock the full industrial potential of AM, the EU must scale up targeted investment and coordination by creating a European AM Public–Private Partnership (PPP). Such a partnership would align industry, research, and policymakers across the value chain, accelerate deployment through EU-supported pilot lines and demonstration facilities, and provide shared open-access infrastructure that enables companies, particularly SMEs, to test, scale, and invest with confidence.
AM should be recognised as a critical industrial capability for EU emergency preparedness and response. Strategic investment in AM, including through a coordinated network of facilities across Member States, would enable rapid, flexible, on-demand production of essential components during crises, helping to mitigate supply chain disruptions and reduce dependence on external suppliers. This approach would strengthen Europe’s industrial resilience and help ensure that critical infrastructure and healthcare systems remain operational during emergencies. With a coordinated European approach, AM could enhance competitiveness, efficiency, and productivity across multiple strategic sectors, including aerospace, energy, medical devices, and defence, while supporting resilient, sustainable, and high-quality industrial production.
While AM can already deliver high-performance parts at scale, wider uptake is often limited by closed product ecosystems and fragmented standards. Addressing these challenges through standardisation, certification, and skills development is essential. Unlocking the full potential of AM requires a European approach that integrates policy, investment, and education while accelerating industrial adoption.
As AM-Europe is operated by CECIMO, it will continue to support the sector by strengthening coordination between industry and European institutions and by promoting the conditions needed for wider deployment. AM-Europe will use and build upon the network established by CECIMO to foster co-operation and representation on the European stage.
Through its Manifesto, policy engagement, and stakeholder outreach, AM-Europe aims to position additive manufacturing as a strategic asset for Europe’s industrial resilience, technological leadership, and long-term competitiveness.
About the Author:
Filip Geerts is Director General of CECIMO, the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries and related Manufacturing Technologies. He represents Europe’s advanced manufacturing sector at the European Union and international levels, working closely with policymakers and industry leaders on competitiveness, digitalization, sustainability, and global trade. With a background in engineering and extensive experience in industrial policy and advocacy, Geerts is a leading voice on the future of manufacturing in Europe.
Filip Geerts will be speaking at Additive Manufacturing Strategies (AMS) 2026 as part of the panel “International Reshoring and Friendshoring.” The panel will explore how global reshoring and friendshoring strategies are reshaping additive manufacturing ecosystems across regions. The session is part of the broader AMS 2026 conference, which runs from February 24–26 and brings together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators from across the global AM ecosystem. Registration for AMS 2026 is now open.