Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe

Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe
Name	Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe
Founded	0 2010
Type	Consortium
Focus	High-performance computing
Headquarters	Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Region served	European Union
Key people	Anders Dam Jensen
Website	https://prace-ri.eu

Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe is a pan-European initiative established to create a persistent, world-class high-performance computing infrastructure for Europe. It provides leading-edge computing and data management resources to support scientists and researchers across the continent, enabling groundbreaking discoveries in fields from climate science to pharmaceutical research. The partnership is a cornerstone of the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and collaborates closely with the European Commission and national supercomputing centers.

History and formation

The initiative was formally launched in 2010, building upon earlier collaborative frameworks like the DEISA project. Its creation was driven by the recognition that no single European nation could independently compete with the massive supercomputing investments being made by the United States, Japan, and China. Key founding members included major national supercomputing centers such as Barcelona Supercomputing Center, CINECA in Italy, Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany, and GENCI in France. The formation was significantly supported by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme and later through Horizon 2020, establishing it as a central pillar of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures.

Organizational structure and governance

The governance is overseen by a Council of Members comprising representatives from its participating member states and hosting centers. Day-to-day operations are managed by a dedicated Executive Director, a role held by Anders Dam Jensen. Key bodies include the Scientific Steering Committee, which evaluates project proposals, and the Technical Directorate, responsible for the operation of the HPC infrastructure. The organization maintains its legal seat in Brussels and coordinates closely with the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and the European Technology Platform for High-Performance Computing.

High-performance computing infrastructure

The partnership operates a tiered supercomputing infrastructure, featuring several world-class petascale and emerging exascale systems. These include machines like MareNostrum at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, SuperMUC-NG at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, and Juwels at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre. Access to these resources is granted through a competitive peer-review process managed by the Scientific Steering Committee, ensuring time is allocated to the most promising research projects in domains such as Computational fluid dynamics, Materials science, and Astrophysics.

Scientific and industrial applications

The computing resources support a vast array of pioneering research across Europe. In climate science, researchers use the infrastructure for high-resolution simulations to inform reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In life sciences, it enables complex molecular dynamics simulations for drug design and understanding diseases like COVID-19. Further applications include aerospace design with Airbus, fusion energy research for projects like ITER, and fundamental physics for experiments at CERN. The partnership also fosters industrial innovation through specific programs for SMEs and large corporations.

Funding and member states

The initiative is funded through a combination of contributions from its member states and significant grants from the European Commission via the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe Programme. Core member states include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others, with each nation contributing through its participating supercomputing center. The total investment spans multiple billions of euros, coordinated through the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking to avoid duplication and ensure strategic alignment with the broader EuroHPC strategy.

Future developments and strategic goals

Strategic goals are focused on achieving exascale computing capabilities within Europe and developing a robust European supercomputing ecosystem. This involves deploying new pre-exascale and exascale systems, such as those planned under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, and enhancing quantum computing integration. Future priorities also include expanding AI and big data analytics capabilities, strengthening digital skills training, and ensuring the infrastructure supports key EU policy goals like the European Green Deal and a resilient Digital Single Market.

Category:High-performance computing Category:Research organizations in Europe Category:Scientific organizations based in Europe