Barcelona to debut 3D printing incubator

The first hi-tech 3D printing incubator will open in Barcelona's Zona Franca industrial estate on Friday as the first part of the ambitious DFactory 4.0 project.

At Monday's inauguration, the Zona Franca consortium and the Leitat Foundation also announced funding of 100 million euros for a 70,000 square meter robotics and 3D printing center, which will be housed in the former Seat factory.

The initial phase of the larger project will begin in 2020, with the building of office space, laboratories and an incubator, in a 17,000 square meter space, at a cost of 20 million euros.

Until then, however, the 3D printing incubator that opens on Friday will provide services to some 30 firms in the health, logistics and mobility sectors, with financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).