Publication date: March 17, 2025
The European Union wants to create a federated, secure and hyper-connected ecosystem of data infrastructure and services that will enable:
Following this decision, in July 2021, the Commission issued a regulation establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking.
“AI Factory” under the Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 establishing the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488 (OJ EU. L. 256, 2021, p. 3, as amended ) is a centralized or distributed entity providing an AI supercomputing services infrastructure, consisting of an AI-optimized supercomputer or an AI-optimized partition of a supercomputer, an associated data center, dedicated access and AI-focused supercomputing services, which also attracts and creates talent pools to provide the competences necessary to use supercomputers for AI purposes .
Based on this information, it can be concluded that AI Factories are centers equipped with EuroHPC supercomputers. The regulation assumes the creation of a network of interconnected “AI Factories” in different European countries. As part of this project, it is planned to integrate supercomputers, as well as data resources and scientific and industrial competences to support the development and implementation of AI technologies. In order to create cutting-edge generative AI models, the factories combine computer power and data. They serve as hubs for driving progress in AI applications in various sectors, such as health, manufacturing, climate, finance and others.
The first AI factories are planned to be launched in 2025. The Commission also assumes that AI centres will be established among all EuroHPC members. The European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking is composed of public and private members. The public members include EU Member States and Associated Countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. The private members of EuroHPC are representatives from the European Technology Platform for High-Performance Computing (ETP4HPC), the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) and the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC ).
EuroHPC governance structure consists of:
In accordance with Article 5 of the aforementioned Regulation, the EuroHPC budget is jointly funded by the participants – both public and private. For the period 2021-2027 it amounts to approximately 7 billion. Its funding is distributed between the Digital European Programme, Horizon Europe and Connecting Europe. The Connecting Europe Facility has committed EUR 1.9 billion to support the purchase and deployment of supercomputers, the federation of supercomputing services and the expansion of the use and skills in high-performance computing (HPC). Horizon Europe has invested EUR 900 million to support research and innovation activities for the development of a world-class supercomputing ecosystem, while the Connecting Europe Facility has committed EUR 200 million to improve the connections between high-performance computing (HPC) systems and data resources, as well as to the Union’s common European data spaces and secure cloud infrastructures. The same amount of investment will come from the participating countries, while private members will contribute EUR 900 million (in kind and in cash). Since no European country is able to develop world-class supercomputing resources on its own, the Joint Undertaking provides financial support to participants in the form of public procurement contracts or research and innovation grants through open and competitive calls for proposals.
By 2023, the first 8 AI Factories equipped with supercomputers have been created. They are located in: Finland (supercomputer called LUMI), Italy (LEONARDO), Slovenia (Vega), Luxembourg (MeluXina), Bulgaria (Discoverer), Czech Republic (Karolina), Spain (MareNostrum5), and also in Portugal (Deucalion). The first European exascale computer, Jupiter, has been launched in Germany. The second exascale computer, Alice Recoque, has been created in France. The Joint Undertaking has announced the creation of additional AI Factories in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. France and Germany will create AI Factories that will operate alongside the first European exascale supercomputers. Meanwhile, Austria, Bulgaria, Poland and Slovenia will deploy new AI-optimized systems with AI Factories to further develop Europe’s AI infrastructure.
These six new AI factories will be added to the existing ones, creating a connected network of AI hubs ready to welcome AI innovations across Europe. Each factory will be a one-stop shop, offering comprehensive support in developing their datasets, as well as access to AI-optimized high-performance computing (HPC) resources, training and technical expertise. The first seven AI factories are expected to be operational in April 2025.
Among the above, the AI PIAST Factory is planned, which is to be located in Poznań. The innovation is to be financed from funds from the European Commission. The place where the artificial intelligence center will be located is to be the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PCSS). According to EuroHPC, the PIAST AI Factory will operate in Poland under the leadership of PCSS. The cooperation includes the Poznań University of Technology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Nicolaus Copernicus University and regional industrial clusters and innovation centers. The EuroQCS -Poland quantum computer will also be installed in PCSS. The Polish government will spend as much as PLN 340 million on this project, while the Joint Undertaking will provide another PLN 200 million (EUR 50 million). The Piast AI factory in Poznań will strive to accelerate the implementation of AI technologies in the academic and industrial sectors, especially in the areas of: health and life sciences, IT and cybersecurity (including quantum), space and robotics, sustainable development (energy, agriculture and climate change) and the public sector.
It is also worth noting that Poznań will probably not be the only AI Factory. The Academic Computer Center Cyfronet AGH from Kraków, “using the experience of Poznań and the support of specialists from the IDEAS Institute”, will enter the competition at the beginning of May 2025 to apply for further funds for the development of AI infrastructure in Poland. The expansion of resources at Cyfronet AGH is planned. The Polish Council of Ministers decided that as part of the amendment to the budget act, almost PLN 70 million will be allocated to support the project. The Helios supercomputer will be reinforced with significant computing power resources and will join the European artificial intelligence ecosystem. This will be a project co-financed by the European Commission. Cyfronet AGH will also be involved in the work that the Ministry of Digital Affairs is starting together with the PLLuM Consortium and the Central Informatics Center, related to the integration of the Polish language model in public services. Cyfronet AGH is to cooperate with the Polish Language Model Consortium (PLLuM) and the Central Information Technology Centre and the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Their goal will be to integrate the Polish language model with public services.
In summary, the AI Factories in Europe project is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at developing computing infrastructure and supporting innovation in the field of artificial intelligence. Thanks to advanced EuroHPC supercomputers , European countries gain the opportunity to conduct research and implement AI in key sectors such as medicine, industry, cybersecurity and sustainable development. Creating an integrated network of AI centers is not only to increase European technological independence, but also to enable the dynamic development of modern technologies on a global scale.
Poland is actively participating in this project, as evidenced by the construction of the AI PIAST Factory in Poznań and the planned expansion of infrastructure at the Cyfronet AGH Academic Computer Center in Kraków. These investments will allow Polish scientific and industrial institutions to more fully use the potential of AI, and will also contribute to strengthening Poland’s position on the European and global map of artificial intelligence technology. International cooperation and support from EU and national funds are key to the success of this initiative, which may become the foundation for future breakthroughs in AI and large-scale computing.
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