Portugal contributes to €129 million European Union investment in strengthening AI supercomputing with MareNostrum 5

Europe takes a decisive step in strengthening its supercomputing capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) with a contract to expand the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, signed by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) at the end of 2025.

This project represents a total investment of €129 million for the acquisition, delivery, installation, and maintenance of the system, which will be hosted and operated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). Fifty percent of the funding is provided by EuroHPC JU, with the remainder shared between Spain, Portugal, and Turkey as part of the BSC AI Factory project.

National participation is ensured by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), with support from the National Center for Advanced Computing (CNCA) and funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

The new configuration of MareNostrum 5 will integrate state-of-the-art technology, including accelerated hardware for machine learning, language models, complex simulation tasks, and other AI applications. It will also include high-speed interconnects, increased data storage capacity, and energy-efficient cooling solutions.

This update will have an impact on research development in key sectors such as health, climate and agriculture, energy, communications and media, and the public sector.

The contract, signed with a consortium led by FSAS Technologies that includes Telefonica, is a significant step toward transforming MareNostrum 5 into a benchmark for advanced AI innovation. This project strengthens European supercomputing capabilities in this strategic field for startups, SMEs, public administration, and the scientific community.

The installation of the updated system will take place during 2026.

Of the 12 supercomputers currently co-financed by the European partnership EuroHPC JU, Portugal hosts Deucalion, installed on the Azurém campus of the University of Minho, in Guimarães. The resources of this platform are managed by FCT, and it is technically operated by the National Center for Advanced Computing. Deucalion has already hosted more than 350 projects and 1,000 users.