Albania Joins the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking

The newly confirmed membership of Albania marks a new step for the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) as it bring together the forces of diverse partners to strengthen Europe's supercomputing capabilities, advance science and boost the innovation potential of enterprises across Europe.

Albania has been actively participating in the European Union (EU) Research and Innovation programme since 2008.  As a Horizon 2020-associated third country, researchers from academia, research institutes, public authorities, and industry based in Albania were already able to access EuroHPC supercomputers to support their research. 

Albania will now become a full participating state of the EuroHPC JU. As a result, cooperation between the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and Albanian researchers will be further reinforced. Albanian scientists will now be eligible to apply for EuroHPC JU Research & Innovation calls funded under Horizon Europe, which are supporting the development of supercomputing technologies, applications, and software.  Also, as a signatory of the Digital Europe Programme (DEP),  Albania could now contribute to the deployment of the EuroHPC  AI Factories network and other calls in the area of supercomputing competences and skills fostering the growth of a highly competitive and innovative AI ecosystem in Europe. 

Albania is joining other EuroHPC JU participating states who have acceded to the Horizon Europe Programme and but are not EU members states, namely Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. They are all cooperating with the EU in delivering its mission to be strategically autonomous in European HPC, AI and quantum computing and to develop a world-class supercomputing ecosystem in Europe. 

Anders Dam Jensen, Executive Director of the EuroHPC JU, stated:  

"We warmly welcome Albania as the newest member of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. This addition to our ever-growing initiative is a testament to the shared and increasing ambition to strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty in supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies.”

Mirlinda Karçanaj, Director General of the National Agency of Information Society (NAIS), added:

“EuroHPC membership is more than a technical milestone — it is a statement of intent. Albania is not only integrating digitally with Europe, but also helping to shape its future. We are investing in talent, aligning with European values, and opening the door for our researchers and innovators to operate at the highest levels.”

Background

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a legal and funding entity created in 2018 to enable the European Union and EuroHPC JU participating countries to coordinate their efforts and pool their resources with the objective of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing.  

In order to equip Europe with a world-leading supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured ten supercomputers, located across Europe. Three of these EuroHPC supercomputers are now ranked among the world’s top 10 most powerful supercomputers: Jupiter in Germany ranks at 4, becoming Europe’s new fastest Supercomputer along with LUMI in Finland (9^th place) and  Leonardo in Italy (10^th place). Through the EuroHPC Access Calls, European scientists and users from the public sector and industry can benefit from these EuroHPC supercomputers, which rank among the world’s most powerful.     

Currently, the EuroHPC JU is also overseeing the implementation of 13 AI factories across Europe that offer free, customised support to SMEs and startups. These comprehensive open AI ecosystems centred around EuroHPC supercomputing facilities are supporting the growth of a highly competitive and innovative AI ecosystem in Europe. 

The EuroHPC JU is also deploying a European Quantum Computing infrastructure, integrating diverse European quantum computing technologies with supercomputers. Earlier this week, EuroHPC JU inaugurated PIAST-Q in Poznań, Poland, the first EuroHPC quantum computer to be inaugurated, marking a milestone in Europe’s leap into the quantum era.

In parallel, the EuroHPC JU is investing in research and innovation projects to develop a full European supercomputing supply chain: from processors and software to applications to be run on these supercomputers and know-how to develop strong European HPC expertise.