Procurement contract for JUPITER, the first European exascale supercomputer, is signed

JUPITER is set to achieve a significant milestone for European High Performance Computing (HPC) as the first European system capable of one exaflop, or one billion billion calculations per second. To put this into perspective, it means that if each person on Earth completed one calculation per second, it would take more than four years to do what JUPITER would do in just one second. This next-generation supercomputer marks a notable advancement in European technology and its unprecedented computing capacity will have a substantial impact on scientific progress across Europe.

JUPITER’s computing power will support the development of high-precision models of complex systems and artificial intelligence (AI) applications in science and industry alike. Applications will include training large language models in AI, simulations for developing functional materials, creating digital twins of the human heart or brain for medical purposes, and high-resolution simulations of climate that encompass the entire Earth system.

Based on a dynamic modular architecture, developed by the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) together with the EU-funded DEEP projects, JUPITER will be built by Eviden and consist of a highly-scalable Booster Module based on NVIDIA technology and a tightly coupled general-purpose Cluster Module. The general-purpose cluster module will be based on SiPearl’s brand new Rhea processor designed in Europe, a CPU with exceptionally high memory bandwidth, developed in the framework of the European Processor Initiative (EPI). Such optimised utilisation of its various computing modules will make JUPITER specifically tailored to run complex simulations. This architecture will also allow the system to be well prepared for the integration of future technologies, such as quantum computing.

Owned by the EuroHPC JU, this supercomputer will be installed at the Forschungszentrum Jülich campus in Germany and operated by the JSC.

JUPITER is co-funded with an expected total budget of EUR 273 000 000 for the acquisition, delivery, installation and maintenance of JUPITER. The EuroHPC JU will fund 50% of the total cost of the new machine and the other 50% will be funded in equal parts by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKW NRW).

Like all EuroHPC supercomputers, JUPITER will be made available to a diverse range of users in the scientific community, industries, and the public sector, located across Europe. The allocation of computing resources will be a collaborative effort between the EuroHPC JU and Germany, based on the respective investments.

The installation of the system will start in early 2024. Starting with the construction of JUPITER, users will be able to prepare for and test the system as part of the JUPITER Early Access Program, enabling a close cooperation of all involved parties to fabricate and configure the best possible version of the system for the scientific community.

Anders Dam Jensen, Executive Director of EuroHPC JU, said:

“This news marks a pivotal step forward in the realisation of our endeavour to bring exascale computing to Europe. With the combined expertise of our partners and the EuroHPC JU’s continued commitment to bolstering European computing power, JUPITER will revolutionise the European HPC landscape and reinforce European excellence in HPC. Not only will JUPITER break the exaflop barrier, but the system will also use the European HPC processor Rhea, developed under the European Processor Initiative by SiPearl.”

Prof. Thomas Lippert, Director of the JSC, Forschungszentrum Jülich, added:

"I am particularly proud that our specialists at Jülich, together with many European partners, succeeded in developing the new modular supercomputing concept, which is now being the basis of JUPITER as a genuine European technology. Only thanks to the generous support of the European Commission and later EuroHPC JU and BMBF in the DEEP and SEA projects since 2012, such a development was possible in the first place.”

More info

• Europe’s Exascale Supercomputer in Its Starting Blocks, press release from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC)
• GCS Centre Jülich Supercomputing Centre Set to Operate Europe’s First Exascale Supercomputer, press release from the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing to which JSC belong
• An Eviden led consortium to build Europe’s first exascale supercomputer - Eviden, press release from Eviden

Background

The European bidding consortium led by Eviden, the Atos-owned business in advanced computing, in partnership with the supercomputing company ParTec AG has been selected following a call for tender launched in January 2023.

The EuroHPC JU is a legal and funding entity, created in 2018 and reviewed in 2021 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 nine supercomputers, located across Europe:  LUMI in Finland, LEONARDO in Italy,  MareNostrum5 in Spain, Vega in Slovenia, MeluXina in Luxembourg, Discoverer in Bulgaria, Karolina in the Czech Republic, Deucalion in Portugal and now Jupiter in Germany.

The construction of an additional mid-range supercomputer is underway in Greece: Daedalus , with plans for more, including a second EuroHPC exascale supercomputer, to be hosted by the Jules Verne consortium in France and several mid-range supercomputers across Europe.

In addition, six EuroHPC quantum computers are under deployment in Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. These revolutionary quantum computers will allow European users to explore a variety of quantum computing technologies coupled to leading supercomputers.