HPC & AI utilization for business and EuroHPC JU HPC ecosystem for industry

16. May 2025

High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are transforming industries by enabling faster data processing, advanced simulations, and intelligent decision-making. In later years, businesses across sectors—from finance and healthcare to manufacturing and energy—are increasingly leveraging HPC and AI to drive innovation, optimize operations, and gain competitive advantages. The European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) plays a pivotal role in this transformation by providing cutting-edge HPC resources to European industries, fostering collaboration, and accelerating digital sovereignty. Additionally, new initiatives like AI Factories and FortissimoPlus are further strengthening Europe's position in industrial AI and HPC adoption.

The EuroHPC JU initiative, backed by the European Union, aims to strengthen Europe's position in supercomputing and AI. EuroHPC JU continues to expand its ecosystem, offering industry access to world-class supercomputers such as:

· LUMI (Finland)

· Leonardo (Italy)

· MareNostrum 5 (Spain)

Through several and different open calls, EuroHPC JU enables SMEs and large enterprises to test HPC solutions without prohibitive costs. Unlike traditional research grants, these programs provide direct access to HPC resources at reduced or no cost, lowering barriers for businesses. Proposals are assessed based on technical feasibility, economic impact, and alignment with EU strategic priorities (e.g., green transition, digital sovereignty).

EuroHPC JU has recently updated the access schemes to computational resources. Here’s what companies need to know about the main innovations:

1. Dedicated AI & HPC resources: A significant portion of computing time is now reserved for AI-driven projects, including large language model (LLM) training, generative AI, and industrial optimisation.

2. Simplified and faster application process: The new schemes introduce a streamlined evaluation process, reducing administrative burdens for industry applicants.

For AI-focused enterprises, the new AI Factories call provides dedicated access to powerful computing resources specifically designed for AI development:

· Playground access, providing limited resources for entry-level users. Access is granted within 2 working days.

· Fast Lane access, for users already familiar with HPC, requiring up to 50,000 GPU hours. Approval within 4 working days.

· Large-scale access, catering to AI models and applications requiring more than 50,000 GPU hours. Access is granted within 10 working days from the cut-off date, provided that the proposal successfully passes the technical and peer review evaluation.

The AI Factories also provide support from experts.

On the other hand, the other access schemes, which are also subject to technical and expert peer-review, are designed to meet the needs of all other types of projects:

· Development Access – For prototyping and optimising applications.

· Benchmarking Access – Short-term runs to test performance/scaling before larger deployments.

· Large-Scale Production Access (Regular and Extreme) – Extended compute time for mature projects, with higher resource allocations.

· AI for Science and Collaborative EU Projects - For scientific users or industrial users participating in R&I projects funded by EU Programmes.

The time-to-resources-access of the previous schemes ranges from one month (Benchmark, Development, AI for science) to three months (Regular and Extreme).

This revamped access scheme marks a major step in democratizing supercomputing for the EU industry. Businesses that act now can secure a strategic edge in the HPC & AI-driven economy.

Author: Francesca Gebbia, CINECA