- EuroCC 3 and CASTIEL 3 start 1 April 2026 with a three-year duration and a combined budget of approximately €21.9 million.
- The projects coordinate 36 National HPC Competence Centres across EuroHPC Participating States.
- Focus on SMEs and industry: tailored consulting, training, and access to supercomputers.
- EuroHPC JU has procured 12 supercomputers, including first exascale systems JUPITER and Alice Recoque.
- Council Regulation (EU) 2026/150 expands the EuroHPC mandate with AI Gigafactories and quantum technologies.
Background
The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU) has selected two successor projects to strengthen and expand the European network of National Competence Centres (NCCs) for High Performance Computing (HPC). Following the DIGITAL-JU-EUROHPC-2025-NCC-01 call, EuroCC 3 and CASTIEL 3 will both start on 1 April 2026 with a three-year duration. Both projects will continue to be coordinated by the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS).
Key Objectives
EuroCC 3 will serve as coordinator for the 36 NCCs across the EuroHPC Participating States. The NCCs act as a one-stop shop for HPC-related expertise, services, and training. The project places particular emphasis on SMEs and industry through tailored consulting, skills development, and facilitated access to national and European supercomputing resources.
CASTIEL 3 focuses on networking, knowledge exchange, and harmonisation of HPC services across the NCC network. The project provides a unified framework for training, mentoring, and competence visibility, integrating with the broader EuroHPC ecosystem including the EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy (EVITA), AI Factories, AI Factory Antennas, and Centres of Excellence.
Both projects will operate jointly through the shared HPC in Europe Portal as the central hub for competences, services, and training, while integrating new countries into the NCC network.
Budget and Funding
| Parameter | EuroCC 3 | CASTIEL 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Start date | 1 April 2026 | 1 April 2026 |
| Duration | 3 years | 3 years |
| Budget | up to €19,926,915.57 | up to €1,999,883.50 |
| Funding | Digital Europe Programme + EuroHPC Participating States | Digital Europe Programme |
| Coordination | HLRS, Stuttgart | HLRS, Stuttgart |
Funding is provided by the Digital Europe Programme and contributions from EuroHPC Participating States.
Integration with Broader EuroHPC Initiatives
EuroCC 3 and CASTIEL 3 follow on from EuroCC 2, EuroCC4SEE, and CASTIEL 2, which ran from 1 January 2023 for three years.
The NCC network is part of a broader EuroHPC ecosystem encompassing:
- 12 procured supercomputers, including the first exascale systems JUPITER and Alice Recoque
- 19 AI Factories and 13 AI Factory Antennas offering free, customised support to SMEs and startups
- A European Quantum Computing infrastructure integrating diverse quantum technologies with existing supercomputers
- Research and innovation projects developing a full European HPC supply chain
Expanded Mandate under New Regulation
With the recent adoption of Council Regulation (EU) 2026/150, the EuroHPC JU's mandate has been expanded with two new action pillars: the deployment of AI Gigafactories across Europe and the advancement of quantum technologies. The NCC network is expected to play a central role in supporting these new initiatives at national level.