Slovenia applies for a new supercomputer

The Institute of Information Science (IZUM), which has had a supercomputer in Maribor since 2021, applied for the project with the support of the Digital Transformation Ministry on behalf of a consortium comprised of the Jozef Stefan Institute, the Arnes research network, the universities of Ljubljana, Maribor, Nova Gorica and Primorska, the Faculty of Information Studies in Novo Mesto, the Technology Park Ljubljana, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Izum head Aleš Bošnjak stressed the importance of the project. "In 2021, we witnessed a remarkable success with the launch of the Vega supercomputer, which has enabled the development of Slovenia in the strategically important field of supercomputing," he said.

He noted that several representatives of the European Commission had seen Vega live in Maribor and praised their work and contribution to Europe's common endeavour.

"The European Commission is now investing in AI services directly targeted at the economy, which is what we are addressing with this application," said Bošnjak, who sees the project as creating new opportunities to tap into EU funding.

"The Vega supercomputer will be the infrastructure for the AI factory services until Slovenia builds a new data centre near the Mariborski Otok hydro power plant, where a more powerful and AI-adapted supercomputer will be located," he said.

The Government Communication Office said that if Slovenia succeeds with the application the project will significantly contribute to the development of the Slovenian economy, efficiency of the public sector, advancement of science, and the strengthening of international cooperation.

The new supercomputer will build on the existing capabilities of the Vega supercomputer and will enable demanding research and the development of advanced solutions in AI, big data analysis, biotechnology and environmental sciences.

Minister Klampfer pointed out that the new supercomputer would significantly upgrade the existing capacities and enable the most demanding research work. "In addition to technological progress, the project will bring new employment opportunities, strengthen the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy and increase Slovenia's visibility as an advanced digital country," she added.

Apart from taking part in the EU tender for supercomputers independently, Slovenia also joined a consortium of research centres from Italy and Austria on 4 November as part of the application of the Bologna-based supercomputer centre Cineca HPC, which was successful. Slovenia committed to contributing EUR 5 million to that project.

If Slovenia is successful with its independent application, which should be known in the next couple of months, it will contribute up to EUR 75 million to the project and the EU will contribute the same amount. Of the EUR 150 million, EUR 10 million will go for the AI factory, while the total amount also includes the EUR 5 million Slovenia will contribute to the supercomputer in Italy, State Secretary at the Digital Transformation Ministry Aida Kamišalić Latifić told the press today.

The project is divided into two phases. The first involves the procurement, delivery and set-up of hardware and the activation of the AI factory, and is expected to be completed in early 2027. The second phase, scheduled for two years after the start of operations, will consist of upgrading the hardware with the latest GPUs and other technology to make the supercomputer competitive in the long term.

Several supercomputers are envisaged as part of the EU calls for applications, targeting different areas. The new Slovenian supercomputer would focus on three areas: the green transition, biomedicine and the digital society, Bošnjak said today.

The supercomputer would then be used to develop different applications and AI models for these three areas. "We would like to automate this to some extent so that companies could then choose the one that is most suitable for them from this collection of different models and applications," he said.

In addition to the benefits the new supercomputer will have for the economy, it will make an important contribution to the development of Slovenian science, said Tomaž Boh, head of the directorate for science and innovation at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. According to Boh, the Vega computer has already put Slovenian researchers and institutions on the European map, and the new computer will reaffirm this.