Community Centres of Excellence

The main goal of this opportunity is to help Community Centres of Excellence (CoEs) move high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to the next level, including exascale and post-exascale performance. Projects should focus on developing or improving parallel codes to solve scientific, industrial, or societal challenges, with a clear benefit for European HPC users. Emphasis is placed on improving energy efficiency, tackling technical challenges in HPC, and encouraging cooperation with hardware and software developers. Training, cross-sector collaboration, and supporting user communities—especially from EU widening countries—are also key focus areas.

• Include only legal entities from eligible countries (EU, Horizon Europe associated countries, and specific EuroHPC Joint Undertaking members).
• Protect EU strategic interests, especially in sensitive areas like drug discovery or nuclear research.
• Focus on advancing HPC-ready applications for exascale or post-exascale performance, with clear objectives, KPIs, and milestones.
• Work closely with HPC stakeholders and avoid duplicating existing CoE work.
• Include activities for energy efficiency, training, and community engagement.

Example projects:

• Adapting an existing climate simulation code to run efficiently on exascale HPC systems.
• Developing new AI tools for real-time medical data analysis, designed to use European HPC infrastructure.
• Creating training programs for researchers in EU widening countries to use advanced HPC and AI tools.

• Personnel costs for researchers, developers, and technical staff.
• Costs for software development, adaptation, and optimization.
• Expenses for training activities and capacity building.
• Travel and accommodation for collaboration meetings and workshops.
• Purchase or rental of hardware and software needed for project activities.
• Costs for data management and dissemination activities.
• Subcontracting specific tasks (if needed and justified).
• Communication and outreach expenses.
• Administrative and management costs directly related to the project.

Note: Only up to 50% of eligible costs will be funded. For more details, consult the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

• Budget for this Call: 60,000,000€
• Co-financing rate: Up to 50% of eligible costs
• Number of Grants attributed: 10
• Maximum value per project: 4,000,000€ 
• Minimum value per project: 2,000,000€

• Applicants must be legal entities established in eligible countries (EU, Horizon Europe associated countries, and specific EuroHPC Joint Undertaking members).
• Entities from some non-EU or non-Associated Countries may participate if they meet special provisions.
• Applicants must follow the specified application guidelines and format.
• Projects must address the targeted HPC and AI objectives and demonstrate user-driven impact.
• Applicants must show collaboration with relevant HPC stakeholders and avoid duplicating existing CoE work.
• Applicants must include activities for training, capacity building, and energy efficiency.
• Proposals should engage user communities, especially from EU widening countries.