Europe launched its first exascale supercomputer, JUPITER, on Friday at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in western Germany, marking a critical milestone in the continent’s bid to compete globally in artificial intelligence, scientific research, and high-performance computing. The system, capable of executing one quintillion calculations per second, is now the fastest and most energy-efficient supercomputer in Europe, and ranks among the top five worldwide.
Developed by a European consortium led by Eviden, a subsidiary of Atos, and powered by nearly 24,000 NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper superchips, JUPITER is built to accelerate AI training, complex simulations, and scientific modeling at unprecedented speeds. The project, valued at 500 million euros, was jointly funded by the European Union and the German federal government under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who presided over the inauguration, called the system a historic achievement for European science and technology. He emphasized the strategic importance of JUPITER in reducing dependence on external technology suppliers and strengthening the continent’s digital sovereignty amid intensifying global competition in AI innovation.
JUPITER’s architecture incorporates Eviden’s BullSequana XH3000 liquid-cooled system and NVIDIA’s Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking platform, enabling over 90 exaflops of AI performance. The supercomputer also utilizes NVIDIA’s full software stack, including the CUDA-X libraries and the Omniverse, BioNeMo, and PhysicsNeMo platforms, to support real-time simulations, AI model training, and advanced quantum computing research.
Europe launches its most powerful AI infrastructure
The system’s energy efficiency has been highlighted as a key design feature, delivering 60 gigaflops per watt. It also incorporates sustainable infrastructure elements, such as heat reuse systems, aligning with Europe’s climate goals. According to early benchmark tests using Linpack, JUPITER not only outpaces its European predecessors but also doubles the speed of the continent’s next-fastest system for both AI and traditional high-performance computing workloads.
JUPITER is already being positioned as a catalyst for innovation in critical sectors. It will be used for climate and weather modeling through initiatives like the Earth Virtualization Engines project, which aims to build digital twins of Earth. The system will also support breakthroughs in quantum research using platforms like CUDA-Q and cuQuantum, as well as AI-driven drug discovery powered by BioNeMo.
Thomas Lippert, co-director of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre, described JUPITER as a transformative leap that positions Europe at the forefront of AI and scientific computing. He stated that the machine is 20 times more powerful than any other system in Germany and is Europe’s first platform competitive with U.S. and Chinese systems in training foundation AI models.
Access opens to scientists, enterprises across Europe
Kristel Michielsen, also co-director of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre, noted that JUPITER will play a central role in hybrid quantum-classical computing development. She added that the platform’s integration with quantum software tools will enable researchers to address challenges of unprecedented complexity.
Access to the system is open to researchers, institutions, and enterprises across Europe. The initiative aligns with the EU’s broader goal of establishing digital independence while supporting innovation across industries including aerospace, energy, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
JUPITER’s rapid development and deployment completed in less than nine months is seen by European officials as proof of the continent’s ability to lead in next-generation technologies. The launch solidifies Europe’s intent to be a serious contender in the global AI race, backed by sovereign infrastructure that can drive both economic growth and scientific progress. – By EuroWire News Desk.