DIGITAL EUROPE – National Competence Centres for High Performance Computing – 2024

Objectives 

• To support existing or the creation of up to one new NCC in EuroHPC JU Participating States that are currently not funded by the EuroHPC JU. The NCCs funded by the this call should extend the current network of NCCs of the EuroCC 2 initiative to additional countries
• To ensure that NCCs will provide HPC services to industry (in particular to SMEs), academia and public administrations, delivering tailored/modular solutions for a wide variety of users, with an aim to ease and foster the transition towards wider uptake of HPC in Europe
• To ensure that NCCs will be be a focal point of HPC in the respective country, liaising with national initiatives in the area of HPC, facilitating access of national stakeholders to European HPC competences and opportunities in different industrial sectors and domains

Among financed actions

• Facilitate access to the HPC ecosystem including testbeds, hands-on sessions on HPC, HPC application optimising and scaling by connecting national communities with other initiatives such as the European Centres of Excellence for HPC applications
• Facilitate uptake of HPC applications by different users
• Provide scientific/technical expertise/consulting through application-oriented HPC knowledge/focus, as well as access to advanced simulation and modelling algorithms, software codes and tools
• Contribute with the expertise to the development activities of SMEs and the public services to enable their efficient use of HPC resources
• Provide on-site evaluations of new technologies, experimenting, proofs of concept as well as enable validation and demonstration of HPC technologies, software codes, tools, and algorithms in relevant environments
• Facilitate access to supercomputing and data management for exploring innovation solutions of interest to end users
• Local and national training and skills development in the area of HPC and related subjects, through face-to-face as well as online training
• Awareness raising and outreach on the benefits of HPC to potential user industries
• Raise awareness and support national and local communities in identifying and protecting intellectual property in an HPC context and provide advice on licensing policies in collaboration with the pan-European network of NCCs
• Implement technology transfer activities at local/national level and the Digital Single Market

Eligibility

• Be a legal person
• Be a public or private entity
• Be established in one of the eligible countries:
  • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories)
  • non-EU countries: listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Digital Europe Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (Click here)
• A consortium composed of at least 3 entities, established in at least 3 different eligible countries must be constituted

Additional information

• Initial duration of the action: up to 21 months
• Contact: info@eurohpc-ju.europa.eu

Useful

Guidelines: Click here

Other call documents: Click here

EuroHPC JU website: Click here

More information: Click here

• Total budget of the call: 5 million euro
• Amount of the grant: between 1.5 million and 5 million euro
• Funding rate: 50% of the total eligible costs