HPE has announced a considerable investment in sovereign European computing: its first European plant, based in the Czech Republic and focused on producing next-generation HPE systems for HPC and AI applications, a week ahead of ISC High Performance 2022 (scheduled to be hosted in Hamburg, Germany).
The facility is expected to start operating this summer. The facility will be located in Kutná Hora, a town located approximately an hour Southeast of Prague. HPE is no stranger to Kutná Hora, where it has produced several of its server and storage products for many years.
European Union supercomputing sovereignty
Like the existing one, the new plant will be built in collaboration with Foxconn and will handle both production and shipping for HPE’s European clients, according to HPE.
HPE Apollo systems and HPE Cray EX supercomputers will be the focus of this manufacture and delivery, according to HPE. (Fun fact: the manufacturing floor had to be strengthened to handle the later product line, which can include cabinets weighing up to 8,000 pounds.)
This is HPE’s fourth HPC manufacturing facility, with the others being in the United States, Mexico, and Singapore.
The shift
The new plant is yet another significant investment in sovereign European supercomputing as the European Union works to establish an autonomous HPC foundation.
In just the last few months, the European Commission has made progress on a “European Chips Act” that would invest nearly $50 billion in the European semiconductor industry; Atos launched its BullSequana XH3000 supercomputer, promising a slew of benefits for European sovereignty; and Intel announced a $36 billion investment across the European semiconductor supply chain, including a “Silicon Junction” mega-site.
HPE has also made a name for itself in the European supercomputing sector. LUMI, a 375 Linpack petaflops pre-exascale system slated to launch in Finland next month, and Karolina, a 9.1 Linpack petaflops system hosted by the Czech Republic, are two of the first EuroHPC supercomputers created by the business.