Support to the next implementation phase of Pan-European High Performance Computing infrastructure and services (PRACE)

Proposals will address all points below:

(1) Provide a seamless and efficient Europe-wide Tier-0[[Tier-0 are those services provided at pan-European level with machines devoted to the pan-European infrastructure for a significant fraction of cycles (to be agreed with the Commission) and having a minimum performance level to be periodically defined by the consortium]] service to users, based on promoting research excellence and innovation; this includes peer-review procedures for the allocation of computing time; transparent billing; and specific services adapted to the needs of users, including ESFRI projects, Horizon 2020 projects/programmes, large institutional users or industry.

(2) Carry out activities (training, service prototyping, software development etc.) that build on national HPC capabilities (Tier-1) and are necessary to support Tier-0 services or a functional European HPC ecosystem;

(3) Ensure openness to new user communities and new applications; promote industrial

In order to create a world-class pan-European High Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure and to provide state-of-the-art services with access by users, independently of their location, the HPC resources need to be further pooled, integrated and rationalised. Horizon 2020 is a key element to support the European strategy on High Performance Computing which sets the way forward, in particular regarding the access to the best supercomputing facilities and services for both industry and academia. This topic is synergetic to the activities of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in HPC in order to fully implement the European HPC strategy.

The successful response to this area will improve services and procedures for user access to HPC infrastructure resources and services. Allocation schemes fostering openness to new user communities and applications will increased the amount of computing cycles available to researchers at European level through user-friendly and efficient procedures. This will help Europe staying at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs and innovation. This initiative will increase the number of industrial organisations (in particular SMEs), EU projects and institutional users benefiting from access to services including training in HPC. Benefits will also translate in increased investment in HPC infrastructure in Europe (national, regional and EU), long term financial sustainability through flexible business models and inclusive governance, better coordination between demand and supply in the European HPC ecosystem, with improved collaboration of the users and procurers with technology developers and suppliers to foste