The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has signed a contract with HPE to deploy HammerHAI, the first standalone supercomputer under its AI Factories initiative. It will be installed at the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) in Germany to support AI, machine learning, and data science for European research, industry, startups, and SMEs.
According to a press release, HammerHAI will be built by HPE using a liquid-cooled NVIDIA GB200 NVL4 architecture, combining NVIDIA Grace CPUs, Blackwell GPUs, and Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking. It is expected to deliver over 15 Exaflops of peak AI inference performance. Storage will use VAST Data DASE, and a dedicated partition will include AI-optimized inference engines and accelerators from Axelera AI. HPE Morpheus Enterprise will manage provisioning, governance, and workloads.
The system will handle medium- to large-scale AI workloads, support cloud-native stacks, and focus on engineering, manufacturing, automotive, and mobility applications. Delivery is planned for Q2 2026, with operations in the second half of 2026.
Anders Jensen, Executive Director, EuroHPC JU, said, “Today’s signature marks a new step toward a vibrant European AI ecosystem. The HammerHAI supercomputer will empower European startups and industry to innovate at scale while reinforcing Europe’s digital sovereignty and technological leadership.”
Petra Olschowski, Baden-Württemberg Minister of Science, said, “With the HammerHAI AI factory, HLRS and its partners are pooling their resources and expertise along the entire AI value chain in order to drive scientific and economic progress in Baden-Württemberg and beyond.”
Prof. Peter Middendorf, Rector University of Stuttgart, added, “The HammerHAI AI factory offers a powerful infrastructure for artificial intelligence in Stuttgart that will benefit both research and industry far beyond HLRS’s innovation ecosystem at the University of Stuttgart.”
Damien Déclat, HPE, said, “HammerHAI will combine sovereign capabilities, energy-savvy infrastructure and expert support to turn industrial data into advantage. HPE is honored to help drive that mission with an advanced AI-optimized supercomputer, co-designed with NVIDIA for rapid AI deployment and scaling.”
Dr. Bastian Koller, HLRS and HammerHAI, said, “The contract signing for this AI-optimized system marks a new chapter in HammerHAI’s development. We invite future users of the system to begin preparing their datasets, algorithms, and workflows now.”
HammerHAI is among the first AI-optimized systems under the AI Factories initiative, offering performance comparable to commercial cloud platforms while operating in Germany under EU data rules, with free access for eligible European users. It primarily targets startups and SMEs but will also support research, with access jointly allocated by EuroHPC JU and HammerHAI.
Selected as Germany’s first AI Factory in December 2024, HammerHAI is part of a network of 19 AI Factories and 13 Antennas across Europe. HLRS coordinates the project with multiple German research institutions and partners, including collaboration with the UK AI Factory Antenna at EPCC, Edinburgh.
HPE was selected in April 2025 to build the system. The €55 million (US$ 63 million) project is equally funded by EuroHPC JU (via the Digital Europe Programme) and German federal and state ministries, with additional co-funding from the European Commission and regional governments.