June 28, 2024 –In a significant step forward for European high-performance computing (HPC), the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU) has recently inked a hosting agreement with the Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif (GENCI), France’s national HPC agency, for the deployment of the continent’s second E-class (exascale) supercomputer. This development comes as the inaugural E-class system, Jupiter, is being installed in Germany, with an anticipated operational date within the next one to two years.
Dubbed “Alice Recoque,” the upcoming supercomputer pays homage to Alice Recoque, a pioneering Algerian-born French computer scientist and one of the country’s earliest AI researchers. The naming not only acknowledges her contributions to the field but also serves as a testament to the enduring legacy of women in STEM.
Slated for deployment at the CEA’s Très Grand Centre de Calcul (TGCC) facility in Bruyères-le-Châtel, a suburb south of Paris, Alice Recoque will be housed in a state-of-the-art environment designed to accommodate its immense computing power. The project, which carries an estimated total cost exceeding 544 million euros, is a collaborative effort funded equally by EuroHPC JU and contributions from the French and Dutch governments.
Touted as a crucial technological milestone for Europe, Alice Recoque promises to revolutionize the way we tackle pressing societal and scientific challenges through advanced numerical simulations, massive data analytics, and the seamless integration of AI capabilities. The supercomputer’s potential extends beyond traditional computational boundaries, offering a platform that can facilitate the training of next-generation generative AI multimodal base models, further propelling the continent’s AI research landscape.
According to industry reports by HPCwire, Alice Recoque is projected to go live in 2026, with full operational capacity expected by 2027-2028. The system is anticipated to feature cutting-edge hardware, including CPUs based on SiPearl’s Rhea-2 Arm architecture and RISC-V vector accelerators developed under the European Processor Initiative (EPI). This combination of innovative technologies underscores Europe’s commitment to reducing reliance on non-European suppliers and fostering a more self-sufficient HPC ecosystem.
The arrival of Alice Recoque not only solidifies Europe’s position as a global player in the race to exascale computing but also underscores the importance of sustained investment in research and development to address the grand challenges of our time. As Europe’s second E-class supercomputer takes shape, the future looks bright for collaborative endeavors aimed at pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery and technological innovation.
