Europe is developing an interest in supercomputing power. The bloc aims to create a system that stands tall against the world’s most powerful supercomputers.
Although Europe as an entity has never dabbled in supercomputing, it has recently become interested in the subject. Their primary objective is to create, deploy, provide, and maintain an extremely interlinked supercomputing, quantum computing, and service and data infrastructure ecosystem. The goal is to create high-end supercomputers, which are anticipated to ‘meet the minimal requirements of running at level 1 measurement for a Top500 submission’. The objective is to surpass the performance of the fastest computer in the world, which is currently found in Japan.
The source of interest
Europe’s interest in supercomputing was conveyed by the European High-Performance Computing (HPC) Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). The organization publicly stated its desire to establish a top-grade supercomputer with exascale capabilities. EuroHPC JU has also set up a €250 million budget for the project. The organization hopes to build a system that can run at least a billion operations per second.
The goal of the project
The primary objective of building a high-end supercomputer is to deliver innovative and competitive systems that yield user-driven outcomes based on demands. This state-of-the-art computer will be made on a supply chain that will certify the inclusion of top-grade components, technology, and knowledge. With this initiative, the EU can reduce disruption and development risks usually found in the applications used to create the systems.
The EU has big plans for supercomputers. Instead of creating exclusive systems to be used by organizations and industries, the establishment aims to make supercomputers readily available to private users.
Who is providing the funding?
The funding for the development of these supercomputers will be made by the Digital Europe Programme, which will finance approximately fifty percent of the acquisition and operation costs. However, EuroHPC JU will maintain complete ownership of the supercomputers. As of now, the EuroHPC JU has developed at least seven supercomputers that have been distributed around Europe.