EuroHPC JU entrusts GÉANT with connectivity for Europe’s supercomputers
The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) and GÉANT have signed a contract worth up to €60 million to build a secure, ultra-high-capacity hyperconnectivity infrastructure that will link EuroHPC supercomputers and leading research centres across Europe.
With this agreement, Europe takes an important step forward in strengthening its supercomputing ecosystem. The new ultra-broadband federated network will be based on GÉANT’s infrastructure and on that of the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), which have reliably and securely supported European science for decades, creating an infrastructure with transmission capacity on the order of terabits per second. Building on the consolidated ecosystem of European NRENs, leveraging their reach and expertise, the infrastructure will greatly improve data exchange between EuroHPC supercomputers, national supercomputers, AI Factories, quantum facilities, and research and data centres across Europe.
The first services will be available from 2026 and will progressively extend to all EuroHPC sites, benefiting the research community while also ensuring interconnection with industry and public administration.
Once completed, the network infrastructure will feature state-of-the-art capabilities, including:
- High data transfer capacity, with speeds on the order of terabits per second, to support modelling, AI, and simulation workloads
- Advanced security architecture to safeguard sensitive and cross-border research data
- A federated design, connecting European, national, and regional supercomputing centres within a unified structure
- High-capacity connections to Internet Exchanges and data providers, ensuring flexible access for all EuroHPC JU use cases, including public sector and industrial ones
- Flexible and adaptable services, capable of integrating emerging technologies and meeting the diverse needs of the supercomputing ecosystem.
“This is an important step to support the most advanced workloads – from scientific research to AI, from quantum to industry – and to strengthen Europe’s federated HPC infrastructure and digital sovereignty,” said Anders Jensen, Executive Director of EuroHPC JU.
“GÉANT has a long track record of providing essential infrastructure and services for research and education, and we are proud to contribute to Europe’s digital future,” added Lise Fuhr, CEO of GÉANT.
“We are very pleased with this outcome,” commented Claudia Battista, Director of GARR. “Together with other European NRENs, GARR has played an important role in defining the specifications of the new EuroHPC network, which will reach terabit-level capacity to connect Europe’s major supercomputing sites.”
What is EuroHPC JU
The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a European initiative launched in 2018 to coordinate investment and expertise in the field of supercomputing. Its goal is to make Europe a leading player in High Performance Computing (HPC), a strategic sector for research, industry, and public administration.
Thanks to EuroHPC, eleven supercomputers have been acquired across Europe, including JUPITER (Germany), LUMI (Finland), and Leonardo (Italy), all ranked in the global top 10. The initiative also supports access to these resources through dedicated calls, the establishment of 13 AI Factories for SMEs and start-ups, and the integration of quantum technologies with supercomputers, such as the recent PIAST-Q in Poland.
Beyond infrastructures, EuroHPC JU invests in research and innovation to build a complete European supercomputing supply chain, from processors to software, strengthening the continent’s digital autonomy and competitiveness.
Who is GÉANT
GÉANT is Europe’s ultra-high-capacity backbone network interconnecting European Research and Education Networks with multiple 100Gbps links. It provides advanced services to major research infrastructures and the entire research, education, and cultural community across Europe. Together, GÉANT and the NRENs (including GARR) connect 50 million users in 10,000 research and education institutions; through global partnerships and networking projects managed by GÉANT, they reach over 100 countries worldwide.
The role of GARR
Together with GÉANT and leading European NRENs, GARR has actively contributed to identifying and analysing the network requirements of the EuroHPC ecosystem. In particular, this work focused on defining the technical specifications and validating the list of sites included in the tender for the creation of a terabit-level network infrastructure capable of linking Europe’s main HPC sites with data providers for HPC systems, the European and global research networking system, major cloud providers, and the commercial Internet. In addition, GARR has contributed to the thematic working groups on strategic, administrative, commercial, and technical aspects of the tender procedure established by the EuroHPC coordination group.
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