A supercomputer can be seen as a collection of many computers that are interconnected, providing a huge amount of processing power and memory. Supercomputers are built with specialized hardware and software configurations, which enables them to handle parallel processing and deliver unparalleled performance. This enables problem-solving and data analysis that would simply be too time-consuming or costly with standard computers.
Supercomputers are specifically suitable for handling large amounts of data and AI-driven research and applications in different fields. For example, developing large language models like ChatGPT would not have been possible without supercomputers.
Pillars of European digital autonomy
The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) is a European initiative to build a world-class computing infrastructure. The aim is to support not only academic research, but also the competitiveness of the European industry.
LUMI (Large Unified Modern Infrastructure) is one of the pan-European pre-exascale supercomputers, and one of the most efficient supercomputers globally. It is a joint investment between EuroHPC JU and ten member states – Finland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland – where CSC – IT Center for Science coordinates the effort. LUMI is located in Kajaani.
From space technology to fire safety simulations
LUMI is a powerful tool to solve complex research problems such as climate modelling, but it is also useful for smaller projects. 20% of the Finnish LUMI quota is reserved for Finnish companies, and several businesses have already tried out this opportunity.
ICEYE is a Finnish space technology company that manufactures satellites and uses them to deliver real-time radar images. ICEYE uses the LUMI GPUs, i.e. LUMI-G, for product development of automated image interpretation. Training machine learning models takes several weeks, so it is important to keep the data readily accessible. Also, data storage has been a particularly useful feature for ICEYE.
Ramboll is an international, multi-sector engineering and consultancy company whose services include fire safety simulations for buildings. Ramboll uses LUMI for fire safety simulations to significantly speed up the process. They could run an individual simulation around four times faster than before. As the simulations were run in parallel the whole set of simulations was completed almost 20 times faster.
Several ways for a Finnish company to gain access to LUMI
Most companies start using LUMI with a free-of-charge test period, Try&Buy. After T&B, the company can either pay for the usage against the price list or apply for computing grants from Business Finland or EuroHPC JU.
CSC experts support the company users throughout the journey, from setting up the accounts to more in depth technical topics, also with preparing the grant applications. Training is also available.
CSC is one of the partners providing services through the Location Innovation Hub. CSC provides access to LUMI as well as a wide range of courses to develop your skills in the efficient use of supercomputers. To find out more, contact supercomputingforbusiness(a)csc.fi. You can also contact the Location Innovation Hub to find out more about the services you can access through the hub.
