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Ljubljana/Brussels – Slovenia was successful in the European call for a supercomputer. The project, worth 150 million euros, achieved the best result among all applicants. The success of the project places Slovenia alongside the most technologically advanced countries, said the Minister for Digital Transformation Ksenija Klampfer today.
“Slovenia has achieved an exceptional success; not only the highest number of points, our project also received great praise for the very professionally prepared application,” she said. The European Commission is expected to announce the results of the call by the end of the week, when the amount of co-financing will also be known; Slovenia is hoping for the maximum amount, i.e., half of the funds.
The Director of the Information Science Institute Maribor (Izum), who is the leading partner in the consortium, Aleš Bošnjak is convinced that the success in the call was due to the fact that Slovenia in 2021 as the first of the eight applicants in the then call established the supercomputer Vega in the premises of Izum in Maribor.
The second largest Slovenian city was already selected in 2019 among the eight cities to host the EuroHPC supercomputing infrastructure. The new data center with a supercomputer will also be in Maribor, and the country has already acquired the appropriate land, and it is expected to be powered by the Maribor Island hydropower plant.
Slovenia submitted its application at the beginning of February this year. The project is divided into two phases. The first phase includes the procurement, delivery, and establishment of the operation of hardware and the establishment of an artificial intelligence factory. The second phase foresees the upgrading of hardware with the most advanced graphics processors and other advanced technology at the time, two years after the start of operation of the supercomputer and the artificial intelligence factory. This will extend the lifespan or competitiveness of the supercomputer. (March 11)