EuroHPC Federation Platform: Preparing for the first release
To realise the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking’s ambition of building a world-class, federated, and secure HPC and quantum computing ecosystem across the European Union, a broad portfolio of systems has been deployed and made accessible to users across the EU Member States.
EuroHPC Federation Platform (EFP) is helping turn the EuroHPC JU’s vision into a truly unified European high-performance computing ecosystem. By federating the different systems and their infrastructures, EFP is making it easier for researchers and industry users across Europe to access and benefit from world-class computing resources.
Although these supercomputers and associated infrastructures contribute to a shared strategic vision set out by the EuroHPC JU, the systems differ considerably in their operational models, including policies, procedures, services, and tools used for critical functions such as user authentication and authorisation (AAI), resource allocation, job scheduling, and software provisioning. This diversity, while reflecting national strengths, can create additional burden for users and complicate cross-site collaboration.
The EuroHPC Federation Platform (EFP) addresses this challenge by building on the strengths of these heterogeneous systems. It leverages the diverse computational and data analysis capabilities, advanced software environments, and high-performance storage solutions available across the EuroHPC JU Hosting Entities (HEs). EFP is designed to support an expanding range of workflows and enable innovative approaches to complex scientific and industrial challenges.
By federating these resources, the EFP ensures that the distinctive advantages of each HE is fully leveraged, including energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, cost-effectiveness, adherence to high security standards, strong ties with specific scientific communities, and active stakeholder engagement.
Why It Matters: Key Benefits
The EFP project builds on previous European investments by leveraging proven open-source technologies that are already in use across several systems and supported by active developer communities.
When launched in March 2026, the MyEuroHPC web interface will serve as the central access point to all EuroHPC systems. Through a single, unified dashboard, users will be able to view, manage, and monitor all the resources allocated to them by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, regardless of the specific system.
The platform will offer multiple access options tailored to different user needs:
- Direct SSH access integrated with MyAccessID, using secure single sign-on (SSO) via SSH certificates.
- Interactive web-based access through a dedicated interface built on Open OnDemand.
- Workflow orchestration and distributed data management via a user-friendly web GUI and APIs, powered by the LEXIS platform.
And that’s just the beginning, as future releases will expand the platform’s capabilities, including the deployment of a Federated Software Catalogue based onEESSI and CernVM-FS solutions, making it easier for users to discover and access software across systems.
Milestones and progress towards the first EFP release
The EFP contract was officially launched in January 2025. Since then, the team has focused on defining the service, developing the platform components, and building the underlying infrastructure, which will be hosted at CSC.
A significant part of the effort has gone into engaging the Hosting Entities of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking systems. This includes the establishment of a collaboration framework, a leveraging a Hosting Entity Advisory Board and formalised through Collaboration Agreements with the HEs. These agreements lay the foundation for collaboration and outline the roadmap for integrating the platform across all EuroHPC JU systems. Based on this, the first technical roadmap has been drafted and is currently under review by the EuroHPC JU.
Among the platform’s components, the EFP Helpdesk is already live and operational. It is actively used to support the Hosting Entities by addressing inquiries related to the planned work and integration process.
What’s Next on the Horizon
While further agreements are pursued to ensure the inclusion of additional EuroHPC JU HEs, the EFP Consortium is now fully focused on delivering the platform’s first release, scheduled for the end of March 2026. By that time, the EFP platform will be deployed across most of the EuroHPC JU systems currently in production and it will offer the following features:
- Federated Authentication & Authorization Infrastructure (AAI)
- User interfaces designed for both advanced and novice users
- Federated workflow management
- Federated resource allocation, monitoring, and management
- Federated software stack (initial beta deployment)
Following the initial release, development will continue with the integration of additional EuroHPC JU systems, including AI Factories, Quantum Computers, and other strategic initiatives such as EOSC, FENIX, Destination Earth, and SIMPL. The project is planned to deliver annual releases through to its scheduled completion in December 2029.
The EFP contract has seen extensive support from the EuroHPC JU who will be shining a spotlight on the first release of the platform during its next EuroHPC Summit in March 2026.
The consortium delivering the service is led by CSC, and includes GÉANT, NORDUnet, University of Tartu, Ghent University, and VSB – Technical University of Ostrava / IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center.
Stay tuned for more updates as we move closer to the first release and continue building a platform that supports Europe’s scientific and technological ambitions.
Authors:
Alberto Lanzanova, Senior Project Manager, CSC
Timea Biro, Development Manager, CSC
Henrik Nortamo, Senior Application Specialist, CSC
Kuva: Adobe Stock