High-performance computing and artificial intelligence have emerged as game-changing technologies with the potential to boost industrial competitiveness and provide myriad economic and societal benefits. For many small and medium-sized enterprises, however, technical and financial factors can mean that making the most of these technologies remains a challenge.
On May 1, the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) launched a new Research and Innovation project to address this need. Called Fortissimo Plus (FFplus), the project will empower SMEs and startups to take advantage of the opportunities that HPC offers. This also includes using large-scale HPC resources to develop generative artificial intelligence models such as foundation models and large language models. FFplus will help SMEs and startups in accessing state-of-the-art EuroHPC JU supercomputing resources, including pre-exascale and exascale supercomputers. It will also provide support in tackling technical challenges, fostering business development, and encouraging the creation of novel applications.
Coordinated by the High-Performance Computing Center of the University of Stuttgart (HLRS), FFplus will issue six open calls that invite European SMEs and startups to submit proposals for business experiments and innovation studies that demonstrate the benefits of HPC and generative AI. Successful applicants will receive startup funding and support from FFplus to conduct these experiments.
As FFplus continues, it will document productive applications of HPC and generative AI in success stories. These profiles will in turn be used to promote the uptake of these advanced technologies across Europe, showing how SMEs and startups can gain competitive advantages by integrating them into their business practices.
The next chapter in the Fortissimo story
FFplus builds on the methods and accomplishments of the Fortissimo projects, which have left an invaluable legacy in the European HPC and business landscapes. Beginning in 2013, the Fortissimo, Fortissimo 2, and FF4EuroHPC projects executed more than 130 experiments involving 330 partners, resulting in 120 success stories. These success stories have encouraged actors across the European industrial landscape to implement new digitalization technologies in manufacturing (Industry 4.0), and to develop new products and services that bolster the EU economy.
FFplus is managed and coordinated by a consortium of six partners who participated in earlier Fortissimo projects (HLRS/University of Stuttgart, Scapos AG, Teratec, CINECA, CESGA, Arctur) and a new member (CYFRONET). The consortium includes partners from six European countries: Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Slovenia. In this way, FFplus will strengthen activities and support networking across the European, national, and regional levels.
Funding and project details
FFplus was developed in response to the call DIGITAL-EUROHPC-JU-2023-SME-01, whose goal is to support the competitiveness and innovation potential of SMEs.
The project is funded by the Digital Europe Programme (DEP), an EU funding program that is bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens, and public administration, with a total budget of up to EUR 30 million.
FFplus started on May 1, 2024 and will run for a period of 48 months.
Learn more about the project on the FFplus website and follow FFplus on LinkedIn and X (Twitter) for more information on HPC-related topics.
More information regarding current and upcoming EuroHPC Research & Innovation calls can be found here.
About the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking
The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a legal and funding entity that was created in 2018 to coordinate efforts and resources for high-performance computing across the European Union and EuroHPC JU-participating countries. Its objective is to make Europe a world leader in supercomputing.
The EuroHPC JU is equipping Europe with a world-class infrastructure for HPC, AI, and related technologies. It has already procured nine supercomputers, which rank among the world’s most powerful. European scientists, as well as users from the public sector and industry, can benefit from access to these supercomputers regardless of where in Europe they are located.
In parallel, the EuroHPC JU funds ambitious research and innovation projects. In addition to projects started in previous years, it has launched five new projects in 2024: Epicure, HPC Spectra, POP3, EoCoE-III, and HANAMI.
About the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart
The High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) was established in 1996 as the first German national high-performance computing center, building on a tradition of supercomputing at the University of Stuttgart that stretches back to 1959. As a research institution affiliated with the University of Stuttgart and a founding member of the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing — the alliance of Germany’s three national supercomputing centers — HLRS provides state-of-the-art HPC services to academic users and industry. HLRS operates one of Europe’s most powerful supercomputers, provides advanced training in HPC programming and simulation, and conducts research to address key problems facing the future of supercomputing. Among HLRS’s areas of expertise are parallel programming, numerical methods for HPC, visualization, cloud computing concepts, high-performance data analytics (HPDA), and artificial intelligence. Users of HLRS computing systems are active across a wide range of disciplines, with an emphasis on computational engineering and applied science.
Press contact
Sophia Honisch, High-Performance Computing Center of the University of Stuttgart (HLRS),
Tel.: +49 (0) 711 / 685-68038, honisch(at)hlrs.de
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