Centres of Excellence preparing applications in the Exascale era

This program specifically targets legal entities from EU Member States and countries associated with Horizon Europe that are also members of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. Its overarching objective is to advance High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications for scientific and industrial challenges, ultimately contributing to Europe's leadership in the exascale computing era.

The program funds the development and optimization of High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications tailored for exascale performance, covering a wide range of scientific and industrial challenges. It supports activities spanning from core code development, maintenance, and optimization to addressing complex technical challenges, co-design initiatives, and efforts to improve energy efficiency. The focus is on advancing applications to a high level of maturity, ready for market introduction and scaling within the European HPC ecosystem.

This program offers grant funding, structured as a Horizon JU Research and Innovation Action. While the minimum EU contribution for each project under this topic is EUR 15 million, the EU funding rate covers up to 50% of eligible costs. This rate can be supplemented by additional national co-funding for entities within participating states, depending on their national contributions to the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. No specific project duration is mentioned.

Participation in this program is subject to specific general and legal conditions outlined in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and the EuroHPC JU Work Plan. Key requirements include strict consortium composition from EU Member States and associated countries that are members of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. Proposals must adhere to a 70-page limit and fulfil additional obligations regarding collaboration, exploitation, and open science practices.

The application process for the Centres of Excellence program follows a single-stage submission procedure, with proposals evaluated against specific award criteria, scoring, and thresholds. The selection process considers not only the ranking but also aims to ensure a balanced portfolio of domains, HPC applications, and geographical areas.

This program operates under the specific conditions defined by the EuroHPC JU Decision 28/2021 Work Plan 2022, forming its core authorization. It is also governed by the broader legal framework of Horizon Europe, including its foundational regulations and various general annexes that detail participation rules, grant agreements, and financial management.