For years, Europe has seen much of its manufacturing base shrink as production has moved overseas and global competition has increased. Now, the region is trying to bring that work back home. Across industries, from energy and defense to aerospace and tooling, reshoring has become a key priority, and additive manufacturing (AM) is helping make it happen.

After decades of outsourcing heavy manufacturing to Asia and depending on long, fragile supply chains, recent global crises have forced Europe to rethink its strategy. The COVID-19 pandemic alone showed just how dependent European companies were on parts and materials coming from far away. Then the war in Ukraine drove up energy costs and disrupted access to metals and raw materials, many of which came from Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe.

Feature image courtesy of 3DPrint.com: An AI-generated visualization of Europe’s reshoring strategy.