Sept. 11, 2024 — The Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) has announced the arrival of the first containers for the modular data center that will house the European exascale supercomputer, JUPITER. These specialized modules, positioned with the help of cranes, mark the beginning of the Modular Data Centre (MDC) that will eventually host the supercomputer.

Onlookers at JSC witnessed the installation of the containers at the JUPITER construction site. In contrast to previous supercomputers housed in traditional computing facilities, JUPITER will reside in a modular computing center. Once complete, this high-performance center will consist of approximately 50 containers, covering nearly half a soccer field.

JUPITER is set to become the first supercomputer in Europe to surpass one quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) operations per second. This exascale computing capability will advance scientific simulations and accelerate the development of artificial intelligence. With its immense power, simulations that once required weeks or months will be completed in a fraction of the time. JUPITER will also rank among the world’s most powerful systems for AI training.

The supercomputer will be installed incrementally and will be accessible to researchers across Europe. The modular data center is being constructed by Eviden, with a focus on speed, cost-efficiency, and expandability. The MDC, supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKW NRW), can be adapted to future demands without extensive renovations. This includes the potential integration of cutting-edge technologies such as quantum or neuromorphic computing.

JUPITER’s funding is shared between the European supercomputing initiative EuroHPC JU (50%) and two German institutions—the BMBF and MKW NRW—through the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (25% each).

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Source: Forschungszentrum Jülich