Germany To Build Its Exascale Supercomputer: A First in Europe

The Jülich Supercomputing Center (JSC), home to JUPITER, the first exascale supercomputer in Europe, and the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) have inked a hosting agreement.

TOPSHOT-JAPAN-SCIENCE-COMPUTERS — TOPSHOT - This picture taken on June 16, 2020 shows Japan's Fugaku supercomputer at the Riken Center for Computational Science in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture. - The Fugaku supercomputer, built with government backing and used in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus, is now ranked as the world's fastest, its developers announced on June 22, 2020. STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images

JUPITER has been created to enable the intensive use of artificial intelligence and the analysis of large data volumes, as well as to support the development of high-precision models of complex systems and assist in addressing critical societal issues like climate change, pandemics, and sustainable energy production.

Scientific Computing said JUPITER will be set up and run by the JSC beginning in 2023 on the site of Forschungszentrum Jülich in Jülich, Germany.

Germany, EuroHPC To Make ExaScale Supercomputer

Spectrum said the EuroHPC JU and Germany would jointly fund this next EuroHPC supercomputer with a potential total expenditure of EUR 500 million. EuroHPC JU is contributing 250 million euros toward this amount, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the State of North Rhine-Ministry Westphalia's of Culture and Science are each contributing 250 million euros equally (MKW NRW).

No matter where in Europe they are situated, JUPITER will be able to serve a broad spectrum of European users from the scientific community, business, and government. The EuroHPC JU and Germany will jointly control access to the new machine's computing capabilities according to their investments.

In the DEEP projects financed by the European Commission and EuroHPC JU, Forschungszentrum Jülich collaborated with European and international partners to build a modular supercomputing architecture that would serve as the foundation for JUPITER. During complicated simulations, the modular architecture will allow for an optimized use of the numerous computer components. A system with such an architecture will also be well equipped to incorporate emerging technologies, such quantum computing.

JUPITER, like other EuroHPC supercomputers, will be built with environmental responsibility and sustainability in mind. Its water cooling system was created with efficiency for JUPITER, and it will be fueled by renewable electricity. Forschungszentrum Jülich is looking at potential uses for waste heat from JUPITER.

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Where They Will Place Supercomputers For The Rest of EU

Inside HPC said the hosting agreement is a contract that spells out each party's responsibilities, rights, and obligations. EuroHPC JU will oversee the procurement procedure for this new supercomputer, which will start soon.

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking announced the choice of new locations for the hosting of brand-new supercomputers in June 2022. Two requests for expressions of interest that were issued in December 2021 led to the selection of these hosting organizations.

The EuroHPC JU has already purchased eight supercomputers throughout Europe to provide Europe with a supercomputing infrastructure that leads the globe. There are now five supercomputers in use: LUMI in Finland, LEONARDO in Italy, Vega in Slovenia, MeluXina in Luxembourg, Discoverer in Bulgaria, and Karolina in the Czech Republic. There are also two other supercomputers in development: MareNostrum5 in Spain and Deucalion in Portugal.