The Council has agreed on an amendment to the regulation that sets the framework for the activities of the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). The amendment aims to establish Artificial Intelligence (AI) gigafactories in Europe and create a dedicated quantum pillar in the activities of the EuroHPC JU.
AI gigafactories will benefit from public and private support through public-private partnerships, involving, among others, member states and industry stakeholders. The proposed Council regulation outlines the framework for establishing and operating AI gigafactories, while allowing flexibility for partners to achieve their best possible results. It sets clear rules for funding and procurement and includes protection measures for start-ups and scale-ups.
Today, we have taken very important steps towards establishing up to five new AI Gigafactories in Europe. AI is in my opinion one of the most important critical technologies of tomorrow and key for European resilience, competitiveness and security. We owe Europeans a strong response to American and Chinese strengths in this field.
Christina Egelund, Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science
The amended regulation also allows for unused EU funds to be redirected to AI Gigafactory projects and facilities, and for the creation of multi-site gigafactories across multiple countries.
The Council also introduced in the text safeguards for third-country participation and updates to the governance structure of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking to reflect its expanded role.
Additionally, the agreement transfers quantum research and innovation activities from the Horizon Europe research and innovation framework programme to EuroHPC JU activities to strengthen efforts in this critical technology.
AI gigafactories are large-scale facilities combining high-performance computing, energy-efficient data centres, and AI-driven automation. These centres will provide world-class AI computing infrastructure to support European researchers, entrepreneurs, and industries, boosting Europe's industrial strength, fostering new AI solutions, and enhancing EU's technological autonomy.
Next steps
The agreement reached today signals the Council’s wish to proceed with adopting this legislation. This regulation is not negotiated under the ordinary legislative procedure. Therefore, the European Parliament is only to give its opinion on the text. It is expected to adopt its opinion on 17 December. Thereafter, the regulation will be up for final adoption by the Council, once legal-linguistic revision is completed.
