Supercomputing Access and Expert Support
Advanced Computing Austria ACA is the national competence centre (NCC) for supercomputing in Austria. We help companies adopt High-Performance Computing (HPC) without having to buy or operate their own infrastructure. Our services combine hands-on HPC support and consulting with access to national and European supercomputers.
Contact:
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Our focus: classic HPC for engineering and data
ACA concentrates on classic HPC: engineering simulation (CFD, FEA, CAE) and data-intensive computing. including AI workloads. For AI support and business development please contact AI Factory Austria. Classic HPC is a specialised field in Austria, and this is where we bring our expertise to companies. Because moving to HPC is a major step, we believe the decision should rest on evidence from your own work rather than on promises. Before you commit a significant investment, you should be able to test: We discuss a proof-of-concept (PoC) scope with you, so that you can run your own models or data on a supercomputing system, measure the results and decide on your next steps on that basis.
ACA supports companies and start-ups in engineering, manufacturing, automotive, energy and data-intensive industries, as well as research institutions in Austria. You do not need prior HPC experience to start.
What ACA does for your company
Expert consulting on HPC
- We assess whether HPC fits your simulation or data challenge and which systems suit your software stack.
- We advise on how to integrate HPC into your R&D or production processes, including cost and resource planning.
Access to national and European supercomputers
- We facilitate access to HPC systems in Austria and across Europe, including Leonardo and the clusters of Austrian Scientific Computing.
- We connect you with infrastructure providers, experts and partners.
Compute capacity and HPC support for AI
- For AI workloads, we sell compute capacity and provide hands-on support for setting up and running your jobs.
- We do not offer AI development support. If you need more AI support, AI Factory Austria is your starting point.
Training
- Our training centre is one of Europe's most respected, known for in-depth courses that translate directly into daily practice and for hands-on experience on our HPC systems.
- We offer practical training in parallel programming, simulation software and data processing, tailored to your team's level.
Typical HPC workloads
- Simulation of physical processes (CFD, FEA, CAE)
- Digital twins
- Processing and visualisation of very large datasets
- Optimisation of simulation and HPC code
- Complex computational problems that exceed local workstations
- Shorter development cycles and time-to-market through simulation
Benefits of HPC for your business
Processing power and memory
- Billions of operations per second through parallel processing
- Distributed memory for models and datasets that exceed a single machine
Data sovereignty
- Your data is processed on local servers and stays in Europe.
Time and cost efficiency
- Lower cost per result through high performance
- Faster prototyping through simulation before physical tests
- No investment in servers, cooling or energy for peak workloads
Proven results from our projects
Protecting data sovereignty: local AI transcription at the University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck needed to transcribe sensitive research interviews without sending the audio to external providers. The workflow runs on the university's HPC system LEO5. It separates speakers, adds timestamps and can translate transcripts. The university has published the code as a public GitLab repository, so other HPC operators can reuse it. Read the whole success story.
93% less computation time: solar shadow forecasting with LuxActive
The Vienna-based software company LuxActive developed CloudShadingAI, an AI tool that predicts cloud and terrain shadows for photovoltaic planning. ACA supported the project with consulting and HPC access. Training all 67 AI models took around 24 hours on the Leonardo supercomputer. LuxActive estimates that the same work would have taken around two weeks on a local machine. Read the whole success story.
Data-driven research strategy at TU Wien
TU Wien used 80 GPUs of the MUSICA supercomputer to analyse around 30,000 publication abstracts and about 2,000 projects with a large language model. The result is a data-driven map of the university's research areas, and the annotation of all abstracts took three days on the system. Read the whole story.
Contact
Advanced Computing Austria ACA GmbH
Karlsplatz 13
A-1040 Wien
Austria
Email | Web | LinkedIn | Bluesky | YouTube
FAQ
What is an NCC?
A National Competence Centre (NCC) is a national contact point for HPC and related technologies in the EuroHPC network. ACA is the NCC for supercomputing in Austria. It helps companies and research teams find the right HPC resources, access them and use them effectively.
Does my company need its own HPC system?
Not necessarily. Through ACA you can use national and European supercomputers and gain the benefits of HPC without investing in your own infrastructure.
Where is my data processed?
Data is processed on European servers and stays in Europe. For sensitive data, such as product designs or research results, we discuss the setup with you before a project starts.
Can ACA help with CFD and FEA simulations?
Yes. Engineering simulation (CFD, FEA, CAE) is a core focus of ACA. We support you with consulting, access to suitable systems, software setup and performance optimisation.
Can we test HPC before we commit?
Yes. We discuss a proof-of-concept scope with you, so that you can evaluate performance and results with your own models or data.
What does HPC access cost?
Access to Austrian supercomputers is billed based on tokens. You can find our current price list here.
We also support you in applying for access to EuroHPC systems through a EuroHPC JU call, which is competitive and requires an application. To get in touch, please use our contact form.
Do we need HPC experience?
Basic HPC knowledge is required to work productively on our systems. You can build it in our training courses, which are designed for practical, day-to-day use on HPC systems. Of course we support your team during onboarding.
Can HPC be used for AI?
Yes. ACA sells compute capacity for AI workloads and provides HPC support for setting up and running your jobs. We do not offer AI development support. For AI development, AI Factory Austria is your starting point.
Funding statement and disclaimer
ACA also works within the framework of the EuroCC 3 initiative. EuroCC 3 has received funding from the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (JU) under Grant Agreement No. 101306701. The JU receives support from the European Union‘s Digital Europe Programme and Germany, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, and Kosovo.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. Neither the European Union nor the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking can be held responsible for them.
National co-funding for Austria was granted by Austrian Scientific Computing (ASC).
HPC in Europe is the umbrella brand uniting Europe's high-performance computing initiatives across 36+ countries.
