The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking has issued a call for tender for INNOVATE, a supercomputer built to deliver computing power suited to European industrial needs. The system will prioritise security, confidentiality, data integrity and operational flexibility when it comes online.
CINECA will host the machine at the DAMA Tecnopolo in Bologna, with the INNOVATE Consortium handling day-to-day operations. The architecture will blend dedicated CPU and GPU resources tuned for AI training and inference, visualisation, large-scale simulation and emerging industrial services.
The system is intended to support a wide spectrum of use cases: digital twins, large language model tuning and deployment, big data analytics, advanced manufacturing, robotics and automation, personalised healthcare, climate and weather modelling, supply-chain optimisation and high-fidelity virtual prototyping.
As the first EuroHPC supercomputer aimed specifically at industrial applications, INNOVATE is meant to bolster Europe's ability to handle secure, high-value computational tasks while enabling European companies to boost competitiveness, build expertise and cultivate advanced digital and computational capabilities.
Organisations interested in supplying the system must submit tenders by 8 September 2026, 17:00 CET.
Project structure and funding
CINECA leads the INNOVATE project and will serve as the hosting entity. The INNOVATE Consortium brings together partners from across Italy's industrial and innovation landscape: Almawave S.p.A., Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A., BI-REX - Big Data Innovation & Research Excellence, Fondazione ICSC – Italian Research Center on High Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing, Fondazione IFAB – International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development, SNAM S.p.A. and Unipol Assicurazioni S.p.A. Fondazione ICSC represents the private parties in the consortium.
The project carries a total budget of EUR 11,615,385.00. The EU is contributing EUR 4,065,385 through the Digital Europe Programme, with industrial partners covering the remainder.
EuroHPC's broader infrastructure push
The EuroHPC JU functions as a joint legal and funding mechanism uniting the European Union and participating countries to coordinate supercomputing efforts and combine resources, aiming to position Europe as a global supercomputing leader.
The initiative has already procured 12 supercomputers distributed across the continent, including JUPITER in Germany and Alice Recoque in France, which are among Europe's first exascale systems.
Beyond traditional supercomputers, EuroHPC is rolling out 19 AI factories across Europe, complemented by 13 AI Factory Antennas that deliver free, tailored assistance to small and medium enterprises and startups. The IT4LIA AI Factory, one of these facilities, signed its procurement contract in April 2026.
Scientists and users from public and industrial sectors can access EuroHPC supercomputers through regular access calls, regardless of their location within Europe. These calls aim to drive scientific progress and support applications with industrial, scientific and societal value for the continent.
In June 2026, EuroHPC inaugurated LISA, the Leonardo Improved Supercomputing Architecture partition, also in Bologna.
The organisation is additionally deploying a European Quantum Computing infrastructure that combines various European quantum technologies with existing supercomputers. It also funds research and innovation initiatives aimed at building a complete European supercomputing supply chain, spanning processors, software, applications and expertise development.
Following the recent adoption of Council Regulation (EU) 2026/150, EuroHPC's remit has expanded to include new pillars focused on deploying AI Gigafactories across Europe and advancing quantum technologies.
