Europe urged to follow China's industrial 3D printing strategy

Chinese players lead desktop segment as EU lacks focus on deployment, demand creation

20260127 3d house

A robot arm that is part of an additive manufacturing system piles concrete layers to build Europe’s largest 3D-printed building in Heidelberg, Germany. © Reuters

CLEMENT NGU

February 1, 2026 18:47 JST

LONDON -- The COVID pandemic and the Ukraine war showed the strategic importance of 3D printing, with the technology used to make face shields and drone components quickly, yet Europe risks falling behind China if it does not change how it views the sector, analysts tell Nikkei Asia.

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