JUPITER, the first European exascale supercomputer, will be hosted by the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany. Exascale supercomputers are systems capable of performing more than a billion billion calculations per second and represent a significant milestone for Europe. By supporting the development of high-precision models of complex systems, they will have a major impact on European scientific excellence.
A further four sites have also been selected to host mid-range supercomputers with petascale or pre-exascale capabilities:
- DAEDALUS hosted by the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology (GRNET) in Greece,
- LEVENTE hosted by the Governmental Agency for IT Development (KIFU) in Hungary,
- CASPIr hosted by the National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) in Ireland,
- EHPCPL hosted by the Academic Computer Centre CYFRONET AGH (CYFRONET) in Poland.
The machines will be co-funded by the EuroHPC JU with a budget stemming from the Digital Europe Programme (DEP), Horizon Europe (HE), and by contributions from relevant participating states. The JU will co-fund up to 50% of the total cost of the high-end supercomputer and up to 35% of the total cost of the mid-range supercomputers. The exact funding arrangements for the new supercomputers will be reflected in hosting agreements that will be signed soon.
Just as the existing EuroHPC supercomputers, these new systems will be available to serve a wide range of European users, no matter where in Europe they are located, in the scientific community, as well as industry, and the public sector. They will power new applications in a wide range of areas, from designing medicines and new materials to fighting climate change; they will advance science and boost the innovation potential of enterprises while ultimately improving the citizens’ quality of life.
The hosting entities have been selected as a result of two calls for expression of interest for the selection of a hosting entity for one high-end supercomputer and a number of mid-range supercomputers, launched in December 2021.
Background
The EuroHPC JU is a legal and funding entity, created in 2018 and recently reviewed by means of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173, with the mission to:
- develop, deploy, extend and maintain in the EU a world-leading federated, secure and hyper-connected supercomputing, quantum computing, service and data infrastructure ecosystem;
- support the development and uptake of demand-oriented and user-driven innovative and competitive supercomputing system based on a supply chain that will ensure components, technologies and knowledge limiting the risk of disruptions and the development of a wide range of applications optimised for these systems;
- widen the use of that supercomputing infrastructure to a large number of public and private users and support the development of key HPC skills for European science and industry.
In order to equip Europe with a world-leading supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured seven supercomputers, located across Europe. Five supercomputers are now fully operational and ranked among the world’s most powerful supercomputers: LUMI in Finland, Vega Slovenia, MeluXina in Luxembourg, Discoverer in Bulgaria and Karolina in the Czech Republic. Another three more supercomputers are also underway: LEONARDO in Italy, Deucalion in Portugal and MareNostrum 5 in Spain.
