Europe’s Supercomputing Ambitions Expand
AI Gigafactories and Quantum Join the EuroHPC Mission
The European Commission has proposed a major amendment to the regulation governing the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU)—the body responsible for Europe's high-performance computing infrastructure. The original regulation was initially established in 2018 and later amended in 2021 and 2024. It focused on creating a European ecosystem for supercomputers and, more recently, AI Factories. However, as technological demands grow and the geopolitical imperative for technological sovereignty intensifies, the Commission is now aiming higher. The new amendment, published in July 2025, proposes expanding the mission of the EuroHPC JU to include two bold new pillars: the development of "AI gigafactories" and the integration of quantum computing technologies into the JU.
So why this change, and why now? In recent years, Europe has made significant strides in building large-scale AI infrastructure. The concept of "AI factories"—compute clusters specifically designed for training and deploying powerful artificial intelligence models—was first introduced in the 2024 amendment to the EuroHPC Regulation. These AI factories support the EU’s goal of fostering home-grown generative AI and foundational models. However, the pace of AI advancement has quickly outgrown even that infrastructure. With the advent of frontier models requiring hundreds of billions—or even trillions—of parameters, the EU now recognises the need to support facilities that are significantly more powerful, sustainable, and interconnected. These new AI gigafactories, envisaged under the amended regulation, would be up to four times more capable than existing AI factories. They would also be designed from the ground up with energy and water efficiency, modular upgrades, and open access for startups, research centres, and public institutions.
The term "AI gigafactory" might sound like marketing hype, but it reflects a real shift in ambition. They are not simply going to be “larger” data centres. They are envisioned as flagship European infrastructures, capable of hosting and developing the next generation of AI systems under European regulations. Not only that, but they represent Europe's answer to the massive AI investments made by hyperscalers like OpenAI/Microsoft, Google DeepMind, and Chinese national labs. The gigafactories will be publicly co-funded, but open to industry, with governance rules set out in the revised EuroHPC framework to ensure fair access and transparent evaluation. This also means that compute capacity built with European funds will remain available for European users.
But the amendment goes even further than adding the AI gigafactories. The Commission proposes adding a dedicated "quantum pillar" to the EuroHPC JU’s mandate. While Europe has long supported quantum research through Horizon Europe and the Quantum Flagship, the Commission considers that the lack of a coordinated implementation framework for quantum infrastructure has hampered industrial deployment. The proposed amendment fixes this. It integrates formally quantum computing and hybrid quantum–classical systems into the EuroHPC’s mission, aligning it with the recently launched "Quantum Europe Strategy." The idea is to facilitate the JU as a central implementation vehicle for quantum infrastructure across Europe—linking national competence centres, quantum test beds (such as those in the Qu-Test project), co-design platforms, and integration efforts with existing supercomputing systems.
This is more than just a bureaucratic tweak. It signals a political commitment to treating quantum technologies not as academic curiosities, but as a strategic industrial domain—one that needs investment, coordination, and infrastructure support. With other jurisdictions racing ahead in commercialising quantum computing, Europe must act to ensure its own startups and research institutions have access to test facilities, early-use cases, and integration paths. The proposed amendment thus allows the EuroHPC JU to fund and manage quantum-related infrastructure projects, in parallel with its support for supercomputers and AI facilities.
All of this fits into a broader strategic narrative. Europe is positioning itself to become a global leader in frontier computing. That means building not just powerful machines, but also establishing governance frameworks, access rights, and ecosystems that reflect European values. The expansion of the EuroHPC regulation means that the Commission is taking a proactive step to keep Europe in the digital race as a co-inventor and custodian.
The amendment is currently under discussion by the Council and Parliament, but its intent is clear: Europe’s computing ambitions are growing, and the EuroHPC JU is being reshaped to reflect that. Whether Europe can build and operate AI gigafactories and quantum systems that rival the scale and sophistication of American and Chinese counterparts remains to be seen. One thing is certain, the EU no longer wants to be a passive observer in the global computing race. With this amendment, it is setting the stage to become a sovereign and competitive player in the digital infrastructure of the future.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
The Qu-Test project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101113901. Further information at this link: https://qu-test.eu
