We’re covering business and energy news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs.Würth Additive Group has closed its doors, and BigRep delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.RA Wind received a grant for robotic 3D printing of wind turbine blades.
Finally, Ampera has completed production on a 3D printed microreactor module.Würth Additive Group Business Unit Announces Closure The Würth Group, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Germany, manufactures and sells assembly and fastening materials.It started working with additive manufacturing (AM) in 2017, and opened its Würth Additive Group (WAG) business unit in 2021.
In addition to distributing 3D printing materials and hardware through reseller partnerships, WAG’s main goal was to support customers with inventory management solutions, and the unit introduced its AM-driven Digital Inventory Services (DIS) platform at AMUG 2024, officially launching it at AMUG 2025.Things seemed to be going well for WAG, at least from the outside looking in.The company held a Demo Days tour around North America in 2024, co-produced a white paper about AM and digital inventories with Additive Manufacturing Research, and even announced a strategic partnership with B9Creations at AMUG 2026.
Then, last week, WAG confirmed that it was closing via a brief LinkedIn post.If anyone was following along on LinkedIn, maybe you saw the closure coming.Two months ago, AJ Strandquist, Würth Additive’s CEO, posted that he was leaving, “officially closing one chapter and starting another.” Then, three weeks ago, Mikhail Gladkikh, Director of Global Technology and Technical Projects, shared that he’s “actively exploring my next chapter,” citing the “wind-down” of the WAG division.
This wind-down was then made official with WAG’s 50-word statement on LinkedIn.As far as I can tell, no reason for the closure has been publicly shared; the post simply said that the company “is committed to an orderly closure of all operations.” In response to every LI comment on the post, WAG has expressed its gratitude, and called the closure “a carefully considered business decision.” Stakeholders with active accounts, or outstanding arrangements, will be contacted directly by the company’s Closing Office.Those with other inquiries should email [email protected].
I, for one, will miss Würth Additive Group.I like what they were doing with DIS, I think it was important.But we’ll have to find our digital inventories elsewhere.
BigRep SE Delists from Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Liquidates Parent Company ONE.5 at work.Image courtesy of BigRep.And the hits just keep on coming, as large-format 3D printing leader BigRep GmbH will be sold and delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
This is another SPAC casualty, as BigRep is one of many AM firms that went public through a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).When it merged with SMG Technology Acceleration SE in 2024, the company (now BigRep SE) said the public listing would allow it to carry out a buy-and-build strategy to benefit shareholders.Part of the deal included BigRep’s acquisition of competitor HAGE3D from Austria, which would supposedly set the company up for major market expansion.
Since then, the company has made strides forward, forming a partnership with Phillips Federal, entering the auto aftermarket, and even launching a new 3D printer at this year’s RAPID.But sadly, it doesn’t have a lot else to show for its buy-and-build strategy, posting annual losses and even attempting a reorganization last year.The company’s management and supervisory boards made the decision to sell and delist BigRep, and liquidate its holding company.
Shareholders held an extraordinary general meeting to approve the sale and liquidation, and the sale was structured to close at fair market value, based on an independent valuation of BigRep GmbH, and subject to customary closing conditions.Shares will be sold to De Krassny GmbH, Koehler Invest GmbH, and Hage Holding GmbH, and the purchase price was not disclosed.Any surplus proceeds or assets will be distributed to shareholders.
If the sale goes through as planned, BigRep is set to keep operating under new management.No details have been made public yet about personnel or structure, so we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.RA Wind Gets Grant for Robotic 3D Printing of Wind Turbine Blades Manufacturing wind turbine blades is a demanding application, with large fixed molds, labor-intensive composite layup, and complex logistics to move them to the installation site once they’re complete.
That’s why Energy Transition Norway (ETN) member RA Wind AS is using 3D printing to address these issues.The company, founded in 2023, develops rotor and nacelle technology for offshore wind energy, and just received a 500,000 NOK (nearly $52,000) grant from Innovation Norway for a project about onsite, robot-controlled 3D printing of wind turbine blades.The funding will support commercial and technical clarifications, including 3D printing, process simulation, and analysis of small composite material prototypes.
By using large industrial robotic 3D printing to fabricate blades onsite, RA Wind hopes to enable site-specific blade design, get rid of long-distance transport, and even usher in lighter, possibly reusable materials.Even more broadly, the company wants to use a patented modular turbine design to lower installation, operations, and maintenance costs for offshore wind by 50%.RA Wind CEO Lars Raunholt said, “Execution of the Innovation Norway project is a deciding factor for moving this innovative project into the prototype stages.” The company also completed a capital increase from local investors to match the Innovation Norway grant.
The next step is a pilot factory project with up to four large additive robots.Ampera Completes Full-Scale 3D Printed Nuclear Reactor Module Ampera CEO Brian Matthews unveils the first module (Image: Ampera) Florida-based Ampera is working to develop subcritical thorium-based, energy dense microreactor systems that don’t need to be refueled, using neuron-source technology, a proprietary tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel platform, and advanced AM.It’s achieved a major milestone by completing production of what it says is the first full-scale 3D printed nuclear reactor module.
This winter, Ampera submitted a formal letter to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to indicate its desire to begin the pre-application process for its containerized microreactor.By April, it had entered a strategic collaboration with Monaco shipping company Scorpio Tankers Inc.to jointly make and commercialize advanced microreactors for shipping, marine, and related maritime applications.
The reactor module, unveiled this month at the company’s innovation center in Palm Beach Gardens, includes the pressure vessel and a spherical monolithic gyroid core, printed out of silicon carbide and designed to work for up to 30 years without refueling.Ampera’s ultimate goal is to deliver factory-built, scalable, deployable, emission-free power for applications like defense, maritime, industrial, and data centers.“This next-generation nuclear core and pressure vessel sets the foundation for factory-built, mass-produced nuclear energy.
The advanced technology and additive manufacturing used demonstrate a clear commercial path for new nuclear technology coming to market in an accelerated manner,” said Ampera’s Founder and CEO Brian Matthews.“Our reactors are built for the markets that need power the most: AI data centres, defence, industrial and maritime.We expect to be the first company to industrialise factory-built nuclear power with near-term deployment timelines.” Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
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