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Italy’s Strategic Role in HPC
Italy is one of Europe’s leading nations in supercomputing, thanks to its advanced infrastructure and world-class research institutions. At the heart of Italy’s (High-Performance Computing) HPC computing ecosystem is the Tecnopolo Data Manifattura of Bologna, also known as “Dama” (from “Data” and “Manifattura”). This site hosts Leonardo, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, alongside the ECMWF data centre (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) and INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics) computing systems. The Tecnopolo is the primary hub for HPC computing in Italy and a key node in Europe’s supercomputing network. It is set to become Italy’s AI Factory, a cutting-edge innovation centre for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), bringing together computing power, data resources, and expertise to support businesses, start-ups, and public sector projects.
Leonardo: Italy’s Supercomputing Powerhouse
Leonardo is a pre-exascale supercomputer with a processing power of 240 PetaFLOPS (240 million billion operations per second). Featuring 3,500 processors and 14,000 latest-generation GPUs, it ranks among the top four most powerful supercomputers globally and plays a crucial role in accelerating scientific and industrial research across various fields. Leonardo was co-financed by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and the Italian Ministry of University and Research. It is managed by CINECA, a consortium that has been at the forefront of HPC computing in Italy and Europe since 1969.
Key Applications of Leonardo:
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Large-scale neural network training.
- Climate Simulations: High-precision analysis of climate change models.
- Biomedicine: Molecular simulations for drug discovery.
- Energy & Industry: Optimisation of industrial processes and material engineering.
Supercomputing Driving Business Innovation in Italy and Europe
Beyond Leonardo, Italy hosts other major supercomputing facilities that contribute to its overall computational capacity. The country’s HPC leadership stems from a strong public-private synergy, fostering innovation across multiple sectors. EuroHPC has recognised Italy’s excellence by entrusting it with pioneering pilot projects. One notable example is INNOVATE, a CINECA-led consortium that has secured funding to build Europe’s first industry-dedicated supercomputer, also located at the Tecnopolo of Bologna. This system will integrate cloud computing flexibility with advanced HPC technologies, including high-performance CPUs and GPUs, to facilitate AI adoption and HPC expansion in European industry. With this initiative, Italian companies and start-ups will gain access to HPC computing tailored to their specific needs, benefitting from a service model designed for industrial applications.
Italy: A Strategic Supercomputing Hub in Europe
Italy has firmly positioned itself as a supercomputing leader within Europe. The EuroHPC initiative is a force multiplier, providing funding and strategic coordination to transform local excellence—such as the Tecnopolo of Bologna—into global supercomputing hubs. For businesses and stakeholders, this means direct access to world-class HPC infrastructure, unlocking new collaboration opportunities in cutting-edge European research projects. As supercomputing becomes a core driver of digital transformation, having access to state-of-the-art HPC resources and expertise will be a decisive factor in competing in the data-driven economy. Europe and Italy’s joint commitment to HPC computing is paving the way for a future where high-performance computing fuels progress in research, industry, and startups, creating an innovation-driven ecosystem for shared technological growth.