Next VSC Flemish Tier-1 supercomputer managed by VUB
Our consortium partner, Flemish Supercomputer Center (Vlaams Supercomputer Centrum - VSC), has announced that the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) will be the proud host and manager of VSC’s next Flemish Tier-1 supercomputer. The new supercomputer represents a significant investment of 12 million euros and will go online in the autumn of 2025. It will be open to all Flemish researchers, companies, and SMEs.
Strategic importance of supercomputing in Flanders
Jo Brouns, the Flemish Minister for Science Policy and Innovation, puts it best:
"Supercomputers are strategically vital for Flanders. This infrastructure empowers our industries, Flemish researchers, and government agencies to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. From accelerating complex calculations to enhancing climate simulations and training AI models, the benefits are boundless. Not to forget, supercomputers played a pivotal role in our fight against COVID-19, aiding in virus spread mapping”
The VSC, which falls under the authority of the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO), is a collaboration between the five Flemish university associations. The VSC provides the broad Flemish research community (universities, university colleges, companies) with infrastructure and support to perform large scientific computations. That infrastructure consists of supercomputers, a cloud environment, and large-scale data storage capacity. Based on their capacity, supercomputers are divided into two tiers: Tier-2, of which each university has one in its own data center, and Tier-1, of which there is only one for the whole of Flanders.
This is the first time the VUB has been allowed to host and manage that Flemish Tier-1 supercomputer. Its predecessor, Hortense, is currently still housed and managed by UGent.
The new supercomputer will find its home in the Nexus data center at VUB's Green Energy Park site in Zellik. This state-of-the-art facility will be the greenest data center in Belgium This aligns perfectly with VUB's vision of transforming the research park into a thriving innovation campus in Zellik.
More information: https://press.vub.ac.be/vub-zal-de-nieuwe-vlaamse-tier-1-supercomputer-huisvesten-op-haar-green-energy-park-site (VUB press release in Dutch)