Flanders has allocated €8.6 million for the purchase of a new supercomputer. The research-support tool is set to be housed at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) from November 2025.
Supercomputers are high-level performing computers. The new TIER-1 supercomputer will be part of a system for computing power, cloud application, and data storage of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre (VSC).
The research tool will be made available to researchers at knowledge institutes, such as universities, as well as companies in Flanders.
In addition to accelerating scientific research, the new purchase promises to be beneficial to the local economy, according to Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele (N-VA). "We are investing many resources in scientific research, but we also want the results of those projects to flow through to the Flemish economy and society as much as possible," he said.
The TIER-1 design is set to meet the demand for AI within research, although it can also be used for research that uses non-AI applications.
Details of the supercomputer. Credit: VUB
The new device is set to be widely used for environmental research. "The Flemish supercomputer will be used intensively for calculating future scenarios with complex climate models within our inter-university consortium of climate research teams," said VUB Professor, Wim Thiery.
Previously, supercomputers have been used to develop brain function models or to map out the spread of the coronavirus, the VUB noted in a press release.
The device will be operational from November 2025 at the Nexus Data Centre on the VUB-Green Energy Park campus in Zellik (Flemish Brabant). It will be housed in a specially designed room and will be visible from the street.
Data centre. Credit: VUB
In an effort to keep the data centre relatively sustainable, the new supercomputer will run on green electricity. The heat the device produces will also be used to partly heat the VUB campus buildings.
"The computing superpower that we need today and in the future is what the TIER1 supercomputer will be able to provide to Flemish universities, research centres and companies," said VUB chancellor, Jan Danckaert.
The device will be supplied by the Japanese tech company NEC Deutschland GmbH. The funding for the new Flemish supercomputer was allocated by the Research Foundation Flanders with the support of the Flemish Government.
