The annual conference of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) – EuroHPC Summit 2025 – was held from 18 to 20 March 2025 under the theme “Bridging HPC, Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence”. The event took place in Kraków, gathering over 1,000 participants, including partners from the EuroCC 2 project.
SRCE participated in the conference as the coordinator of the Croatian National Competence Centre for HPC.
The central theme of this year’s conference was Europe’s sovereignty in the fields of high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing. The launch of newly established AI Factories was officially announced. These factories will serve as development hubs for artificial intelligence across Europe. To date, EuroHPC JU has confirmed the launch of 13 AI Factories—with nine of them set to acquire new resources, three to operate using existing infrastructure, and one to upgrade its current system.
The AI Factories will primarily focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industry, while also offering opportunities for scientific research and public institutions.
In the field of HPC, major developments were presented regarding EuroHPC systems. The evaluation process for proposals to establish a new high-speed interconnection network is nearing completion. This infrastructure will connect existing EuroHPC resources and selected data repositories, allowing users to seamlessly access and utilize multiple systems.
In addition to strategic and policy-related topics, the conference featured traditional sessions highlighting scientific project results, as well as achievements of industry partners and SMEs that have utilized EuroHPC JU resources. For example, sessions included a presentation on advancements in antivenom development for snakebites, and a demonstration of how Norwegian farmers identify fertile regions using Europe’s fastest supercomputer, LUMI.
As part of the event, a meeting of the Central European Regional Group of EuroCC 2 partners was also held. Discussions focused on the coexistence of Competence Centres and AI Factories, and strategic directions and collaboration plans were outlined for the regional group moving forward.
