The industry does not disappear, it reinvents itself. This is symbolized by a humanoid robot dancing very close to the old SEAT industrial grounds in the Zona Franca, setting the pace for the new era of DFactory, the engine of industry 4.0 in Barcelona. During the groundbreaking ceremony for its expansion, the robot's movements metaphorically connect past and future, just like DFactory does, which will triple its space to shape the industry of tomorrow. DFactory's growth already has a concrete plan: with an investment of 50 million euros, the complex will go from the current 17,000 square meters to 60,000 —the equivalent of eight soccer fields—, with four new buildings that will consolidate its position as an international benchmark in innovation and advanced industry. The groundbreaking ceremony is more of a symbolic moment: the expansion work had already begun months ago, with the goal of having the new space ready by the end of 2026. This expansion responds to a practical need: the more than forty companies already installed—which include big names such as Siemens, Kion Group or HP and work in technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence or 3D printing— have already occupied all available space. Technologies, all of them, with "an immediate impact on the lives of citizens," as highlighted by Carlos Prieto, the Government delegate in Catalonia. Representatives of the Zona Franca Consortium (CZFB), the Government of Spain, the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Barcelona City Council have helped lay the symbolic first stone of the DFactory's new era. © CZFB For this reason, DFactory needs more square meters so that these companies can continue to grow and develop their impact projects, but also to attract new companies from all over the world. The focus will be on key sectors for the Barcelona ecosystem such as health, food, and the agricultural industry, and it is estimated that the expansion project could create up to 1,500 direct jobs and more than 5,000 indirect jobs.
Therefore, with the four new buildings, DFactory will become a larger and more complete complex. Buildings A (with more than 24,000 square meters) and B (with 11,640 square meters) will concentrate productive and research activity, which together will gain 35,000 square meters. Each will have four floors, following the model of the current DFactory building, with spaces dedicated to manufacturing, as well as laboratories, offices, and technology centers.
For its part, the Cub building, with 1,100 m², will act as "an open window to innovation," as highlighted by Blanca Sorigué, general director of the Consorcio de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB). It will be the space for cultural, business, and international events, from conferences or conventions organized for DFactory companies to cultural activities open to the public, such as concerts, reinforcing the connection between the Zona Franca and the city's residents.
With an investment of 50 million euros, the complex will grow from the current 17,000 square meters to 60,000. A fourth building (D, with 2,300 square meters) will offer services for workers and visitors, with areas designated, for example, for catering or the gym, reinforcing the conception of DFactory as an integrated industrial campus. Precisely, the differential value of this space is not so much the infrastructure as its integral ecosystem model. For the companies located there, sharing space contributes to the creation of alliances and shared opportunities, generating an ecosystem that, as Pere Navarro, president of the CZFB, has insisted, is difficult to replicate outside this environment. Not so much for the infrastructure, but for the unique combination of factors: proximity to the port and the airport, connection with the city and the metropolitan area, and the concentration of talent and business fabric. "These factors are not found anywhere else in the world," Navarro said, defending DFactory as the true industrial heart of the city, beating from a strategic location. Virtual image of the future expansion of DFactory. This singularity is also visible in the collaborative spirit that defines the project and its expansion. During the event, representatives of the Consorcio de la Zona Franca (CZFB), the Government of Spain, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona City Council —with the mayor at the helm— helped to symbolically lay the first stone. The image of the shared shovel is not casual: it symbolizes a model based on collaboration between institutions, companies and research centers. In fact, all these institutions, which today shared a shovel, also share ideas in the CZFB plenary, where entities such as the Cambra de Comerç, the Port of Barcelona or PIMEC are also represented, most of which were also present at the event.La Marina del Prat Vermell, a new centrality
The expansion of DFactory is part of a broader transformation of its immediate surroundings. Next to the complex, the Marina del Prat Vermell neighborhood is immersed in a deep urban renewal process that aims to turn this area into a new central hub of Barcelona. The project combines the construction of up to 30,000 new homes, a significant portion of them affordable, with the promotion of economic activity. In this regard, the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, has defended that both the expansion of DFactory and the development of Marina del Prat Vermell are part of the same municipal strategy that aims to guarantee the "right to stay" for residents, in a city where living and working are compatible and close. In this context, the proximity between the new DFactory and Marina del Prat Vermell makes perfect sense: advanced industry and residential growth developing in parallel, in the same environment, to ensure that the city promotes and retains its talent.Long-term view
With the works underway and the forecast to finish them by the end of 2026, the complex is already looking towards 2027, when the new spaces are expected to start hosting companies. It will be then that the initial image of the dancing robot will make full sense: the industrial tradition of the past and the technology of the future will share the same space and a long-term vision. A humanoid robot from the Siemens brand set the pace for the groundbreaking ceremony. © CZFB But the expansion does not stop here: the Barcelona Free Zone Consortium foresees a second phase that will take DFactory up to 100,000 square meters. Although it does not yet have a defined calendar, this stage will be launched as the complex occupies the available spaces and captures the interest of the sector to continue growing, projecting Barcelona as a global benchmark for industry 4.0.