Leading the way in European Supercomputing

Upgrading Europe

Quick, think of a number. Now multiply it by 7. That sort of mental arithmetic is exactly what a computer does, except it can juggle numbers 19 digits long. And a supercomputer can perform trillions of these floating-point operations (or FLOPs) at once. One hundred top-of-the-line laptops working together might be able to achieve a single petaflop. One petaflop equals 1 000 000 000 000 000 calculations per second. And Europe’s supercomputers are significantly more powerful than that. When all eight EuroHPC systems are operational, the EuroHPC JU will provide 876 petaflops to European users. By the end of 2023, this will more than double to 1 950 petaflops with the introduction of the first exascale system and further mid-range supercomputers. This is a chart comparing the power of supercomputers deployed by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. In the pre-exascale range are LUMI (380.63 petaflops), LEONARDO (249.47 petaflops) and MareNostrum 5 (205 petaflops). In the smaller petascale range are five supercomputers: MeluXina (12.81 petaflops), Karolina (9.59 petaflops), Deucalion (7.22 petaflops), Vega (6.92 petaflops) and Discoverer (4.52 petaflops). By comparison, a high powered laptop achieves 0.01 petaflops.

Lean, green, numbers machine

Power isn’t everything. In line with the EU’s ambitious plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the EuroHPC JU has been instrumental in supporting the development of supercomputers that are big on power and low on environmental impact. Supercomputers generate a lot of heat. Water-based cooling systems are far more efficient than fans and air-conditioned rooms, helping supercomputers to crunch numbers without breaking a sweat. Supercomputers can consume as much power as a small village, so it’s essential to make sure that electricity is sustainably sourced. In Bissen, Luxembourg, a local power station burns wood waste to keep MeluXina’s lights on. The tremendous heat generated by supercomputers has to go somewhere. Instead of venting it into the environment, LUMI in Finland uses water warmed up by the supercomputer to heat the surrounding buildings. The EuroHPC JU is also helping to redesign supercomputers from the inside out. The energy-efficient microchips being developed by EPI SGA2 will help reduce power consumption even further. Another way to help supercomputers keep their cool is to build them in suitable climates. Ambient temperatures in Kajaani rarely exceed 16° C, the perfect place for Finland’s LUMI.

Putting EuroHPC JU on the map

The EuroHPC JU includes 31 countries working together to build Europe’s supercomputing resources. The map on this page shows the location of the supercomputers deployed by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. In the pre-exascale range are LUMI in Finland, LEONARDO in Italy, and MareNostrum 5 in Spain. In the petascale range are MeluXina in Luxembourg, Karolina in Czechia, Deucalion in Portugal, Vega in Slovenia, and Discoverer in Bulgaria. Eight supercomputers are under deployment, including three pre-exascale units, with plans for more including exascale machines (which can provide thousands of petaflops each), and revolutionary quantum computers.

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Last update: 4 July 2022

Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/442361-leading-the-way-in-european-supercomputing

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