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MaX Centre of Excellence participated in its second project review to assess progress, achievements, and future directions for materials simulation at the exascale level.
On 19 September 2025, MaX Centre of Excellence gathered in Luxembourg for its second project review meeting.
The event brought together representatives from leading European research institutions, including CNR, SISSA, ICN2, CSIC, FZJ, CEA, UBremen, CINECA, BSC, IT4I@VSB, IJS, ATOS/Eviden, SIPEARL, and E4. The review evaluated overall project progress, verified completion of key activities and deliverables, and confirmed that the objectives remain relevant while highlighting opportunities for scientific and industrial impact.
Driving Exascale Innovation Through Four Strategic Objectives
Now in its third phase, MaX is focused on ensuring that Europe’s materials-simulation ecosystem can take full advantage of massively parallel, heterogeneous computing systems. Building on the strong foundation of previous phases, this stage concentrates on scaling flagship simulation codes to exascale levels and enabling complex workflows that were previously out of reach.
Four strategic objectives:
- Exascale-Ready Simulation Codes: Transform leading quantum-materials codes into high-performance, scalable lighthouse applications for heterogeneous HPC systems.
- Automated, Scalable Workflows: Develop resilient workflows to orchestrate multi-code simulations for complex materials science challenges.
- Technical Optimisation: Identify and overcome performance bottlenecks using advanced programming models, vectorisation, and middleware integration.
- Hardware–Software Co-Design: Align hardware and software innovation to maximise performance, scalability, and energy efficiency across exascale systems.
MaX CoE Second Review: Advancing Materials Simulation at the Exascale Level
The second review confirmed that MaX is making significant progress toward its mission, driving European leadership in high-performance computing and advancing the technological ecosystem for materials modelling and simulation.
The review highlighted that success in scientific innovation relies on rigorous evaluation, strategic planning, and a shared vision. MaX continues to uphold these principles as it advances toward its ambitious objectives, delivering tools, methods, and workflows that empower science at the exascale level.
