Germany has taken a decisive step in global high-performance computing with the inauguration of JUPITER, Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, at the Forschungszentrum Jülich. Unveiled by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz alongside European Commissioner Zaharieva, the system marks Europe’s entry into the elite club of exascale computing nations, joining the United States and China.
A Leap Into the Exascale Era
JUPITER is capable of performing more than one quintillion (10¹⁸) operations per second — a level of power equivalent to combining the computing capabilities of all mobile phones across the European Union. Officially ranked as Europe’s most powerful supercomputer and the world’s fourth fastest, it occupies a 3,600-square-metre facility filled with racks of processors and some 24,000 Nvidia chips.
“Jupiter is a leap forward in the performance of computing in Europe,” said Thomas Lippert, head of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre. “It is 20 times more powerful than any other computer in Germany.”
Boosting Europe’s AI Competitiveness
With its immense computing power, JUPITER is being described as “the biggest artificial intelligence machine in Europe.” Emmanuel Le Roux of Eviden, which built the system in partnership with German firm ParTec, noted: “It is the first supercomputer that could be considered internationally competitive for training AI models in Europe.”
The machine will also support the upcoming Joint AI Factory (JAIF), designed to train frontier large language models (LLMs) for generative AI and digital innovation.
Beyond AI: Climate, Energy, and Health Applications
Researchers expect JUPITER to enable kilometre-scale resolution climate models, offering long-term forecasts of extreme events like heatwaves and floods. “With Jupiter, scientists believe they will be able to forecast up to at least 30 years, and in some models, perhaps even up to 100 years,” said Le Roux.
The system will also advance energy transition studies, such as simulating wind turbine efficiency, and help model brain processes for medical research, potentially aiding the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
A €500 Million Joint Investment
The €500 million project is co-funded by Germany and the European Union under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. It will be available to researchers, universities, and industry players across Europe. While JUPITER depends heavily on US technology via Nvidia chips, officials say it lays the groundwork for Europe’s technological sovereignty in AI and supercomputing.
World’s Greenest Supercomputer
Despite an average power consumption of 11 megawatts, JUPITER has been ranked number one globally on the Green500 list of energy-efficient supercomputers. It runs entirely on renewable energy, uses advanced water-cooling systems, and recycles waste heat to warm nearby buildings.
Cornerstone of Europe’s AI Gigafactory Plan
JUPITER is also central to the EU’s strategy of establishing AI Gigafactories — large-scale, energy-efficient hubs for AI model development. Already, 76 proposals from 16 member states have been submitted, underlining Europe’s ambition to become a global AI powerhouse.
