Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS)

Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC)

Exascale supercomputer JUPITER: First containers set up at JSC

Today, the first containers of the modular data centre for the European exascale supercomputer JUPITER were positioned on the base plate. The special modules were lifted into place with the help of a crane. They are the beginning of the new Modular Data Centre (MDC) in which JUPITER will be housed.

Those who were at JSC or Forschungszentrum Jülich today were able to see the first containers for Europe's first exascale supercomputer being installed on the JUPITER construction site. Unlike our previous supercomputers, which are housed in conventional computing halls, JUPITER will be delivered in a modular computing centre. Once completed, the modular high-performance centre consisting of around 50 containers will fill about half a soccer pitch.

JUPITER: Erste Container aufgebaut — View of the construction site shortly before the first container module is positioned.

JUPITER will be the first supercomputer in Europe to break the threshold of one quintillion (1.000.000.000.000.000.000) computing operations per second. The new exascale supercomputer takes scientific simulations to a new level and promises breakthroughs in the use of artificial intelligence. Thanks to its enormous computing power, simulations that previously took weeks or months can then be carried out in a fraction of the time. JUPITER will also be one of the world's most powerful supercomputers for training artificial intelligence.

The supercomputer will be installed step by step and will be available to researchers from all over Europe in the future. The modular data centre for JUPITER is being built by the company Eviden. The special container construction is not only fast and cost-efficient, but also easily expandable. The Modular Data Centre (MDC), which is funded 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 therefore be flexibly adapted to new requirements in future without the need for lengthy reconstructions. For example, it can be expanded by adding further modules or by integrating future-oriented technologies such as quantum computers or neuromorphic computers.

JUPITER is funded half by the European supercomputing initiative EuroHPC JU and a quarter each 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) via the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS).