HPE and LRZ collaborate on Blue Lion, a US$263m AI-powered supercomputer set to revolutionise research and innovative liquid cooling tech.
Nations are aiming to establish technological sovereignty, research capabilities and performance metrics amongst balancing environmental concerns.
This has led to the global tech sector facing increasingly complex challenges, from modelling climate change scenarios to advancing breakthroughs in quantum physics and developing new pharmaceutical compounds.
Now, the demand for more powerful computing resources has never been greater, yet the energy consumption of these systems has become a crucial consideration in their design and implementation.
Against this backdrop, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and the Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ) have announced plans to create Germany’s Blue Lion supercomputer.
The partnership aims to exemplify the future direction of high-performance computing, where technology meets environmental responsibility.
More broadly, this innovation is contributing to the backdrop of Europe’s broader strategic initiatives to maintain computational sovereignty and research independence during geopolitical tensions between China and the US.
Additionally, the project aligns with the EU’s Green Deal objectives, as it aims to deliver computing power and a blueprint for environmentally conscious supercomputing design.
Blue Lion: a new frontier in computing power
Blue Lion is set to become a cornerstone of Germany’s national HPC infrastructure, serving as part of the Gauss Center for Supercomputing.
It’s scheduled to go live in early 2027, will deliver performance 30 times faster than its predecessor, SuperMUC-NG and will be based on next-generationHPE Cray technology and will utilise advanced Nvidia accelerators and processors.
This combination of hardware is designed to support a wide range of research projects, from astrophysics and particle physics to fluid mechanics and life sciences.
Prof. Dieter Kranzlmüller, Head of the Leibniz Supercomputing Center, emphasises the anticipation surrounding the new system: “Procuring a new supercomputer takes work, but it’s incredibly exciting. We can already take a look into the future of supercomputing.
“This increases the anticipation and even more the excitement of how the scientific community will use this system to make even better progress into new realms of knowledge. After all, it’s not about having the fastest supercomputer, but about providing the best possible support for cutting-edge research with our high-performance infrastructure.”
Innovative architecture for diverse applications
Blue Lion’s architecture is specifically designed to execute and combine classic workflows from modelling and simulation with AI methods.
This flexibility is crucial as researchers increasingly rely on surrogate models for complex simulations, such as modelling flows, turbulence or climate events.
The system will leverage HPE Slingshot, a high-performance interconnect capable of transferring 400 gigabits of data per second.
This will allow jobs to scale across the entire system, ensuring efficient data transfer between Blue Lion’s compute and storage units.
Heiko Meyer, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer at HPE, highlights the significance of Blue Lion for Germany’s position in supercomputing: “Supercomputing plays a pivotal role for progress in science and society, as well as for national competitiveness. LRZ’s Blue Lion is another big step to reinforce Germany’s position as a leading region for supercomputing and AI innovation.
“Blue Lion will significantly advance LRZ’s computing capacity and also position them in a cutting-edge position with next-generation technologies that will set new standards for the future of supercomputing.”
Sustainability and efficiency at the forefront
In line with growing concerns about energy consumption in the tech sector, Blue Lion incorporates several innovative features to enhance its efficiency and sustainability. The system will employ 100% direct liquid cooling, with 40°C warm water flowing through the racks in copper pipes.
This advanced cooling system not only reduces operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions but also allows for the reuse of waste heat.
The LRZ already uses waste heat from its current supercomputer to heat its offices and could potentially supply other organisations in the neighbourhood in the future.
John Josephakis, Global VP of Sales and Business Development for HPC and Supercomputing at Nvidia, emphasised the importance of this approach: “The advancement of supercomputing, with a focus on energy efficiency and sustainability, is essential for pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery and innovation.
“Blue Lion, powered by Nvidia’s next-gen accelerators and processors, will help researchers tackle complex challenges across multiple disciplines, from astrophysics to life sciences.”
