High Performance Computing
France 2030 | The government invests more than €40 million in the NumPEx research programme
Date:
Changed on 23/09/2024
Sylvie Retailleau, Minister for Higher Education and Research, and Jean-Noël Barrot, Secretary of State for the Digital Transition and Telecommunications, travelled to Bruyères-le-Chatel in Essonne to launch the NumPEx (Numérique pour l'Exascale) research programme.
High-Performance Computing (HPC) can solve vast and complex problems that are beyond the capabilities of conventional computing technologies. To this end, it processes large volumes of data at very high speed by combining the power of numerous processors.
High-Performance Computing (HPC) can solve vast and complex problems that are beyond the capabilities of conventional computing technologies. To this end, it processes large volumes of data at very high speed by combining the power of numerous processors.
New-generation "Exascale" supercomputers can perform more than one billion billion (1018) calculations per second. The use of these machines relies on software capable of harnessing these computing capacities to produce simulations and models.
There is no shortage of useful applications in our daily lives. Here are some notable examples.
• Medicine: accelerating the development of medicines and vaccines; improving the understanding of the spread of epidemics.
• Studying the climate and protecting the environment: simulating changes in the climate, oceans and glaciers; optimising wind farms; reducing the climatic and environmental impact of combustion operations.
• Aerospace and transport: optimising aerodynamics and aircraft and rocket engines; facilitating the learning of driverless cars; safety testing.
• Safety applications: improving seismic risk assessment, and fire and explosion prevention and control.
These wide-ranging applications raise major societal and industrial concerns which require the coordination of research in computer science and mathematics, software and hardware technologies and in the fields of application. As a result, the French government has decided to invest €40.8 million over six years in the NumPEx exploratory PERP research programme as part of the France 2030 plan.
The aim of this programme is to develop software solutions for the future European Exascale machines and lay the groundwork to enable the major scientific and industrial applications to benefit fully from the capabilities of these machines. This research programme also contributes to France's bid to acquire an Exascale-class supercomputer from EuroHPC, which may co-finance the acquisition.
Managed jointly by CNRS, CEA and Inria, it will contribute to the creation of a sovereign set of tools, software, applications and training courses. This mobilisation will enable France to remain one of the leaders in the field by developing a national Exascale ecosystem coordinated with the European strategy, while putting Europe at the forefront of international competition and strengthening its sovereignty.
