EuroHPC Joint Undertaking: Strengthening Europe’s Supercomputing Ecosystem

What is EuroHPC Joint Undertaking?

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a European initiative launched in 2018 with the aim of developing a world-class supercomputing infrastructure and ensuring Europe’s technological independence in the HPC computing sector.

Supported by the European Commission and EU member states, EuroHPC has invested in some of the most advanced supercomputers in the world, including Leonardo in Italy, LUMI in Finland, and MareNostrum 5 in Spain. Additionally, the initiative is leading the development of the first exascale supercomputers, capable of performing billions of billions of operations per second.

EuroHPC JU’s Key Objectives

The EuroHPC initiative is focused on:

  • Strengthening Europe’s supercomputing infrastructure, providing advanced computational capabilities to universities, research institutions, and businesses.
  • Developing HPC software and applications for scientific and industrial needs.
  • Enhancing specialised expertise and skills development, fostering the adoption of HPC technologies across strategic sectors.
  • Promoting research in quantum computing, integrating future quantum computers with traditional supercomputers.

Tangible Results and Future Outlook

EuroHPC has already yielded significant results. Europe now boasts three pre-exascale supercomputers ranked among the world’s top ten—Leonardo, LUMI, and MareNostrum 5—each capable of performing hundreds of millions of billion operations per second.

Beyond hardware advancements, EuroHPC is also shaping the future of computational technologies. A key strategic component is the integration of quantum computing: the EU has planned the acquisition of six quantum computers, to be installed across multiple countries (including Italy) and interconnected with existing supercomputing centres. These quantum resources will be available to Europe’s scientific and industrial community, complementing traditional supercomputers to tackle complex challenges such as traffic optimisation, molecular simulations, and chemical reactions through a hybrid computing approach.

AI and HPC: The Next Frontier

EuroHPC is also driving Artificial Intelligence (AI) development through HPC resources. In 2024, the European Commission launched the AI Factories initiative, a programme designed to provide AI developers with direct access to Europe’s supercomputers to accelerate the training of large-scale AI models. These AI Factories aim to reinforce Europe’s leadership in responsible AI innovation, leveraging supercomputing power to develop cutting-edge AI aligned with European values.

A Truly Integrated Supercomputing Ecosystem

Thanks to EuroHPC and EU-wide digital policies, Europe is establishing a fully integrated supercomputing ecosystem. This means not only owning the world’s most powerful computers but also ensuring broad access to HPC resources for researchers, businesses, and startups across the continent.

Discover more about Italy’s role in EuroHPC JU and the Leonardo supercomputer by visiting our dedicated pages.