Quantum and supercomputing are essential to be able to process the ever-increasing amounts of data in our lives and to use this data to its full potential.
The EU invests in extremely high-performance supercomputers and quantum technologies. These are investments in your future. With this high computational power, we can face hugely complex and demanding challenges such as climate change, healthcare or cybersecurity through more accurate prediction of extreme weather events, development of personalised medicine and quantum encryption – read on to find out how.
Why do we need supercomputers?
We are producing ever-increasing amounts of data in our lives.
We generate around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data everyday – that’s about 100 million Blu-ray DVDs worth of data.
This data could be personal data from social media, online searches or streaming, data from sensors in fields to help with farming, data collected from weather forecasts, or data other digital objects.
The volume of data that exists in the world is expected to reach 175 zettabytes by 2025. This is hard to imagine – just one zettabyte can hold one trillion copies of War and Peace. And, if one person wanted to download all of this data, it would take about 1.8 billion years.
So, how do we process these huge amounts of data?
Our laptops fall far short of the computational power needed for this.
This is why Europe is investing in high-performance computers, or supercomputers. LUMI, the most powerful supercomputer in Europe, has the computing power of about 1.5 million laptops.
High-performance computers allow us to:
Simulate drug molecules
Rural and town planning
Design new materials & vehicles
Create digital twins
Train large AI models
Analyse rare diseases
EuroHPC Joint Undertaking
The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking was created in 2018.
It pools the resources of European countries so we can compete globally in the supercomputing world. Alone, no single European country could do this. Together, we have a world-class supercomputing ecosystem.
- 32 participating countries
- €7 billion budget for 2021-2027
- 3 private partners
What are the aims of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking?
- Improve quality of life of European citizens
- Advance science and boost industrial competitiveness
- Ensure technological autonomy
- Develop a pan-European supercomputing infrastructure
- Enable EU AI start-ups to train large-scale models
What are the EuroHPC computers?
LUMI
Finland
#3 worldwide
LEONARDO
Italy
#5 worldwide
MareNostrum5
Spain
#8 worldwide
MeluXina
Luxembourg
Karolina
Czechia
Discoverer
Bulgaria
Vega
Slovenia
Deucalion
Portugal
JUPITER
Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, JUPITER, is currently under construction in Germany.
The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking is also preparing to integrate its supercomputers with 6 quantum computers in Czechia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and Poland, the first step towards a deployment of a European quantum computing infrastructure.
The next step for computing: Quantum technologies
What are quantum technologies?
Quantum technologies are devices and systems that make use of the properties of quantum mechanics – the interactions of molecules, atoms, and even smaller particles like photons and electrons.
Quantum computing uses quantum principles to solve extremely complex problems very quickly – quicker even than a supercomputer.
Classical computers like our laptops use ‘bits’ to store units of information that can either be a 0 or 1. Quantum computers use quantum bits – or qubits. These can represent any combination of 0 and 1 simultaneously.
Think about the famous Schrödinger's cat, used to demonstrate this idea: a cat is placed in a box with something that could kill it, and the box is sealed. Until the box is opened, the cat is both dead and alive.
This means rather than having to carry out new calculations each time the information changes, quantum computers can explore many paths at the same time.
In quantum sensing, it is possible to build sensors that are vastly more accurate than their classical equivalents.
Quantum communication uses the properties of qubits to enable very secure transmission of sensitive data.
The EU’s long-term vision is the development of the Quantum Internet all over Europe: quantum computers, simulators and sensors would be interconnected via quantum networks distributing information and quantum resources.
Current quantum applications
Ultra-precise atomic clocks used in navigation systems, smart energy grids, and to timestamp financial transactions.
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI) and advanced medical imaging technique
Quantum simulators and sensors used for quicker development of new drugs and in the detection of natural resources
Quantum key distribution (QKD): one of the most secure forms of optical communication, distributing encryption keys with the ability to detect eavesdropping
Quantum Technologies Flagship
The Quantum Technologies Flagship is a long-term research and innovation initiative.
Consolidate and expand European scientific leadership and excellence in quantum research
Kick-start a competitive European industry in quantum technologies to make Europe a leader
Make Europe a dynamic and attractive region for innovative research, business and investments in quantum
The European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) Initiative
The European Commission is working with EU Member States and the European Space Agency to develop the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI).
The EuroQCI is a quantum communication infrastructure covering the whole EU, which will reinforce the protection of governmental institutions, their data centres, hospitals, energy grids, and more.
It will be an integral part of IRIS², the new EU space-based secure communication system.
Practical applications of supercomputing: Digital twins
Digital twins are virtual representations of real-world objects. They can help us to model scenarios and event predict future events.
Digital twins rely on the power of supercomputers to carry out their highly complex simulations.
Destination Earth
Destination Earth (DestinE) uses digital twins to create a replica of the Earth.
It will help us model, simulate, and predict natural events and the impact of human activities.
The EU is being supported in the implementation of DestinE by three entrusted entities.
European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast
European Space Agency
European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
Timeline of Destination Earth
10 June 2024: First release of core service platform, data lake, and first two digital twins on extreme events and climate change adaption
By 2027: Further enhancement of the DestinE system, provision of additional services, breakthrough AI developments and synergies with additional digital twins
By 2030: A complete digital twin of the Earth system
European Virtual Human Twins Initiative
A virtual human twin is a digital representation of the human body. This can be done at various levels of anatomy – cells, tissues, organs or organ systems.
Virtual human twins use software models and data to mimic and predict behaviour of their physical counterparts. They have a lot of potential to improve targeted prevention, provide clinical pathways and support healthcare professionals.
Clinical trials for medicines and devices
Medical training
Surgical intervention
The European Virtual Human Twins Initiative will foster collaboration and facilitate research in this area, using the power of supercomputing and the benefits offered by the European Health Data Space.
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