Hewlett Packard Enterprise Builds Next-Generation 100% Direct Liquid Cooled Supercomputer at the Leibniz Supercomputing Center

Rhea-AI Summary

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has been commissioned to build 'Blue Lion', a next-generation supercomputer for the Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ) in Germany. The project, costing 250 million euros, will be operational in early 2027 and deliver 30X faster performance than its predecessor SuperMUC-NG.

The system features next-generation HPE Cray technology with NVIDIA accelerators and processors, utilizing 100% direct liquid cooling with 40°C warm water. Blue Lion will support various research fields including astrophysics, particle physics, and life sciences, combining classic simulations with artificial intelligence methods. The system includes HPE Slingshot interconnect technology, transferring 400 gigabits of data per second.

Positive

• Secured major 250 million euro contract for next-generation supercomputer
• System delivers 30X performance improvement over predecessor
• Implements advanced 100% direct liquid cooling technology reducing operating costs
• Features revenue-generating training workshops starting 2025

Negative

• Long implementation timeline with system going live in 2027
• Significant operating costs included through 2032

Insights

Tech Expert

The HPE Blue Lion supercomputer represents a significant technological leap with its 30X performance increase over its predecessor. The system's 100% direct liquid cooling with 40°C water is particularly innovative, enabling both superior thermal management and waste heat utilization. The integration of next-gen NVIDIA accelerators with HPE Cray technology, coupled with the HPE Slingshot interconnect's 400Gb/s data transfer capabilities, positions this as a cutting-edge hybrid computing platform.

The 250 million euro investment demonstrates Germany's commitment to maintaining competitive edge in high-performance computing. The system's architecture specifically designed to combine traditional simulations with AI workflows showcases HPE's strategic alignment with the growing convergence of HPC and AI workloads. This could strengthen HPE's position in the lucrative supercomputing market.

Market Research Analyst

This contract win strengthens HPE's position in the European supercomputing market and showcases their competitive edge in next-generation HPC solutions. The project's focus on sustainability through efficient cooling and heat reuse aligns with growing ESG demands. The long-term nature of the contract, including operating costs until 2032, provides stable revenue visibility.

The integration of AI capabilities with traditional HPC workloads positions HPE favorably in the rapidly growing AI infrastructure market. This project could serve as a reference for similar large-scale computing initiatives, potentially leading to additional contracts. The collaboration with NVIDIA reinforces HPE's strategic partnerships in the high-performance computing sector.

New supercomputer “Blue Lion” is part of the German national HPC infrastructure of the Gauss Center for Supercomputing and will serve a wide range of research projects, combining classic simulations with artificial intelligence 

• Blue Lion is scheduled to go live in early 2027 and deliver 30X faster performance than its predecessor SuperMUC-NG – it will be used for astrophysics, particle and quantum physics, fluid mechanics, natural sciences, life sciences and cultural sciences and many other research disciplines
• The new supercomputer is based on next-generation HPE Cray technology and works with next-generation NVIDIA accelerators and processors
• Blue Lion is 100% direct liquid cooled with up to 40°C warm water, enabling the use of waste heat

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities has commissioned Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) to build its next high-performance computer, called “Blue Lion”. From 2027 on, Blue Lion will support cutting-edge research in Bavaria and, as a system of the Gauss Center for Supercomputing (GCS), will also be used for outstanding national science projects. The contracts were signed on December 13, 2024. The total costs of 250 million euros (1) are shared by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts (StMWK).

Flexible architecture for different applications

The architecture of the new high-performance computer is designed to execute and combine classic workflows from modeling and simulation with artificial intelligence (AI) methods. More and more researchers are relying on surrogate models for their modelling of flows, turbulence or climate events, for which classic simulation calculations are combined with pattern recognition or statistical data analysis. This allows them to calculate more scenarios in less time or expand models with more complex calculations.

To support these workflows, Blue Lion leverages next-generation HPE Cray technology featuring next-generation accelerators and processors from NVIDIA. The system will also deliver fast data transfers between Blue Lion’s compute and storage units through HPE Slingshot, a high-performance interconnect that transfers 400 gigabits of data per second and allows jobs to scale across the entire system. LRZ will also gain purpose-built system management capabilities with HPE Performance Cluster Management, a software management tool that allows LRZ to efficiently monitor and manage the great scale of the supercomputer. With the latest cutting-edge technologies, Blue Lion gains more performance and scale to deliver approximately 30X more computing power (2), compared to SuperMUC-NG, the current LRZ high-performance computer.

New programming needed

The interaction of GPU accelerators and CPU cores in high-performance computers such as Blue Lion requires a new way of programming software and algorithms. This is enabled by the HPE Cray Programming Environment, which helps migrate science code to the new system. To enable users to use the accelerated hardware of the supercomputer efficiently, LRZ and HPE will offer workshops and courses starting in 2025, helping researchers to optimize and port their applications. In addition, LRZ plans to closely cooperate with the European team from Hewlett Packard Labs, and LRZ will also increase its support team by 50 percent by the time Blue Lion goes into operation.

Efficient and quiet

In the future, it will be much quieter in the Twin Cube of the LRZ: Blue Lion will employ 100% direct liquid cooling where 40°C warm water flows through the racks in copper pipes. The water-cooling system allows the waste heat from the system to be reused – the LRZ already uses waste heat from its current supercomputer to heat its offices and could in future supply other organizations in the neighborhood. Direct liquid cooling reduces operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions. Blue Lion also requires less space because server cabinets can be packed much more densely.

Citations:

“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.”
Prof. Dieter Kranzlmüller, Head of the Leibniz Supercomputing Center

“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.”
Heiko Meyer, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

“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.”
John Josephakis, Global VP of Sales and Business Development for HPC and Supercomputing at NVIDIA

Footnotes:

	(1)		Including operating costs until 2032
	(2)		Based on the High Performance Conjugate Gradients Benchmark (HPCG)

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) is the global edge-to-cloud company that helps organizations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere. Built on decades of reimagining the future and innovating to advance the way people live and work, HPE delivers unique, open and intelligent technology solutions as a service. With offerings spanning Cloud Services, Compute, High Performance Computing & AI, Intelligent Edge, Software, and Storage, HPE provides a consistent experience across all clouds and edges, helping customers develop new business models, engage in new ways, and increase operational performance. For more information, visit: www.hpe.com.

About the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ)

The Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) proudly stands at the forefront of its field as a world-class IT service and computing user facility serving Munich’s top universities and colleges as well as research institutions in Bavaria, Germany and Europe. As an institute of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, LRZ has provided a robust, holistic IT infrastructure for its users throughout the scientific community for nearly sixty years. It offers the complete range of resources, services, consulting, and support - from email, web servers and Internet access to virtual machines, cloud solutions, data storage and the Munich Scientific Network (MWN). As a member of Germany’s Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS), LRZ serves as part of the nation’s backbone for the advanced research and discovery possible through high-performance computing (HPC). In addition to current systems, LRZ’s Future Computing Group focuses on the evaluation of emerging Exascale-class architectures and technologies, development of highly scalable machine learning and artificial intelligence applications, and system integration of quantum acceleration with supercomputing systems.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241213107128/en/

Media Contacts:

Patrik Edlund

patrik.edlund@hpe.com

Sabrina Schulte

Sabrina.Schulte@lrz.de

Source: Hewlett Packard Enterprise

FAQ

What is the total cost and timeline for HPE's Blue Lion supercomputer project?

The Blue Lion supercomputer project costs 250 million euros (including operating costs until 2032) and is scheduled to go live in early 2027.

How much faster will HPE's Blue Lion supercomputer be compared to its predecessor?

Blue Lion will deliver approximately 30 times more computing power compared to its predecessor, SuperMUC-NG, based on the High Performance Conjugate Gradients Benchmark.

What cooling technology does HPE's Blue Lion supercomputer use?

Blue Lion employs 100% direct liquid cooling where 40°C warm water flows through the racks in copper pipes, enabling waste heat reuse and reducing operating costs.

What research areas will HPE's Blue Lion supercomputer support?

Blue Lion will support research in astrophysics, particle and quantum physics, fluid mechanics, natural sciences, life sciences, cultural sciences, and other disciplines.

What data transfer capabilities does HPE's Blue Lion supercomputer have?

Blue Lion features HPE Slingshot interconnect technology that transfers 400 gigabits of data per second and allows jobs to scale across the entire system.