HPE Drives Sovereign AI Leadership With Advanced Systems at National Research Centers: HLRS and Argonne National Laboratory

Key Terms

sovereign ai technical

An AI system described as "sovereign" is built, hosted, or operated under a country’s legal and technical control so that data, code, and decision-making stay within that jurisdiction. For investors, sovereign AI matters because it affects which vendors can sell to governments or regulated industries, imposes compliance and infrastructure costs, and can create protected local markets—similar to a factory that must follow a nation’s building codes and can only sell to certain buyers.

ai factory technical

An "AI factory" is an organizational setup that combines data, software, computing power and repeatable processes to build, train, deploy and monitor artificial intelligence systems at scale — like an assembly line for AI models. Investors care because a well‑run AI factory can lower costs, speed product delivery and create predictable revenue streams from many AI-powered products, making a business more competitive and scalable in a measurable way.

exaflops technical

An exaflop is a measure of computing speed equal to one quintillion (10^18) floating‑point operations per second, effectively describing how many tiny math calculations a computer can perform each second. For investors, exaflop capacity signals the ability to run very large simulations, advanced artificial intelligence models, and data‑heavy workloads faster and at scale—similar to comparing how many cars a highway can move per hour—which can affect demand, pricing, and competitive position in cloud, chip, and data‑center markets.

infiniBand technical

Infiniband is a high-speed data transport technology used inside data centers to move large amounts of information quickly and with very little delay, often used for servers, storage and computing clusters. Investors should care because it acts like a multilane expressway for data—companies that build, use or support such fast networks can gain competitive advantages in cloud services, high-performance computing and AI workloads, which can affect costs and revenue potential.

direct liquid cooling technical

Direct liquid cooling is a method that removes heat from electronic components by bringing a coolant into close contact with the parts that generate heat, rather than relying on fans and air flow. For investors, it matters because it enables denser, more energy-efficient and potentially more reliable data centers or computing equipment—think of it as swapping a box fan for a targeted water jacket—lowering operating costs and supporting faster, higher-performance hardware.

ai inference technical

AI inference is the step where a trained artificial intelligence model uses its learned patterns to analyze new data and produce an output — for example, predicting a stock trend, flagging a medical image, or generating text, much like using a recipe to cook a meal. It matters to investors because inference determines real-world performance, speed, and cost of AI features, affects user experience and scalability, and influences operating expenses, regulatory compliance, and competitive advantage.

supercomputer technical

A supercomputer is an extremely powerful computer built to perform massive calculations and process huge amounts of data far faster than ordinary machines; think of it as an industrial-scale calculator compared with a household one. Investors care because supercomputers enable advanced research, simulations and artificial intelligence tasks that can speed product development, cut costs, and create competitive advantages—factors that may boost revenue, margins and company valuation.

At-scale AI factories by HPE, powered by NVIDIA solutions, enable sovereign AI in Europe and U.S.

In this article

• HPE and NVIDIA collaborate on powerful AI systems, combining secure infrastructure and accelerated computing to deliver scalability and compliance.
• HPE will build the system for the European Union’s AI Factory, HammerHAI at the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart in Germany, bolstering AI innovation and research capabilities.
• Janus and Tara systems at Argonne National Laboratory will advance AI training and inference in the U.S., accelerating scientific discovery and workforce development.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NVIDIA GTC – HPE (NYSE:HPE) is helping customers advance sovereign AI initiatives worldwide by delivering robust, liquid-cooled sovereign AI systems that are part of the NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE portfolio. HPE will help build AI factories at Argonne National Laboratory in the United States and the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) in Germany, enabling governments, research institutions, and businesses to quickly deploy, operate, and scale AI initiatives while adhering to regional data sovereignty and compliance requirements.

“Sovereign AI initiatives will accelerate innovation and unlock economic growth, yet they require infrastructure and services that enable scale, sustainability, and governance,” said Trish Damkroger, senior vice president and general manager, HPC & AI Infrastructure Solutions at HPE. “HPE is uniquely suited to power a new era of sovereign AI by combining our proven AI factory solutions and services with NVIDIA solutions to build the world’s fastest, most energy-efficient computers that allow our customers to develop, train, and run AI while maintaining control of their data and IP.”

HammerHAI AI Factory at HLRS bolsters sovereign AI in Europe

HPE will build and install the supercomputer for the European Union (EU) AI Factory, HammerHAI (Hybrid and Advanced Machine learning platform for Manufacturing, Engineering, and Research). A consortium of leading academic high performance computing (HPC) centers in Germany, and coordinated by HLRS, will lead this effort. As part of the EU’s AI Factory initiatives, the €55 million (USD $64.8 million) flagship system is funded by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and Art. It will strengthen Europe’s sovereign AI capabilities for research and industry, including small enterprises and startups, by advancing machine learning, data science, research, and technology development.

The HammerHAI system will provide more than 15 exaflops of peak AI inference performance¹, making it capable of training AI models and running data-intensive simulations used in sectors such as engineering, manufacturing, and automotive. Based on NVIDIA GB200 NVL4 by HPE, the HammerHAI system is a rack‑scale architecture that features:

• NVIDIA Grace CPUs, NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, and NVIDIA Quantum‑X800 InfiniBand Platform
• NVIDIA Unified Fabric Manager and NVIDIA NetQ to support AI factory visibility and operations
• AI‑ready software environment designed for flexibility and scale that includes HPE software and NVIDIA AI Enterprise – including government-ready software – to provide a unified control layer across private and public clouds, hypervisors, and container platforms together
• Direct liquid cooling to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance

“HammerHAI will offer a highly-performant AI platform, alongside services like AI skills training, as an alternative to future users that have historically relied on commercial cloud AI services in which data sovereignty was difficult to ensure,” said Dr. Bastian Koller, Managing Director of HLRS and lead coordinator of HammerHAI. “This integrated approach will help researchers, startups, and enterprises access AI resources while operating in alignment with European Union data security requirements.”

Janus and Tara accelerate AI training and inference to make breakthroughs at Argonne National Laboratory

In the United States, Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory, is supporting Genesis Mission – a new national AI strategy – with next-generation AI systems called “Janus” and “Tara.” The systems will advance AI inferencing for scientific research and innovation, and, along with training and mentorship, will empower future workforce development in AI and computational science. The two systems also reflect the growing convergence of AI and HPC workloads such as modeling, simulation, and data analytics that enable researchers to blend powerful capabilities into unified scientific workflows.

Janus, designed to support the development of the next generation AI and HPC practitioners, will be deployed at Argonne National Laboratory. The system will be based on the HPE Cray XD server platform and accelerated by NVIDIA Hopper GPUs. Janus will provide a powerful environment for training, experimentation, and applied research that prepares users to work with large‑scale AI systems.

Tara, based on the exascale‑class HPE Cray Supercomputing EX4000 supercomputer powered by NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips, is designed to enable researchers using a convergence of AI inferencing and scientific computing to extract real‑world technological and research breakthroughs. Together, these systems reinforce U.S. leadership in AI for science by providing reliable, high-performance infrastructure capable of supporting the most demanding AI and computational workloads.

“We’re entering a new era of supercomputing — one in which AI and HPC converge to form intelligent systems that blend simulation, data and inference,” said Rick Stevens, Argonne’s associate laboratory director for Computing, Environment and Life Sciences. “This integration accelerates discovery at every step, transforming not only the speed but also the way scientists approach their problems. ​By combining AI models with large-scale computation, we can explore complex systems, uncover hidden patterns, and guide experiments in real time. It marks a shift from computing as a tool to computing as an active collaborator in scientific discovery.”

The NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE portfolio evolves

HammerHAI, Janus and Tara systems are based on solutions in the NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE portfolio. Find the latest updates to the portfolio at HPE’s booth (531) at NVIDIA GTC or read about the latest news here:

• HPE unveils next-generation AI factory and supercomputing advancements with NVIDIA
• HPE accelerates secure, scalable production-ready AI through new innovations with NVIDIA

About HPE

HPE (NYSE: HPE) is a leader in essential enterprise technology, bringing together the power of AI, cloud, and networking to help organizations achieve more. As pioneers of possibility, our innovation and expertise advance the way people live and work. We empower our customers across industries to optimize operational performance, transform data into foresight, and maximize their impact. Unlock your boldest ambitions with HPE. Discover more at www.hpe.com.

¹ At FP4 precision

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260316432146/en/

Media Contact:

Cristina Thai

cristina.thai@hpe.com

Source: Hewlett Packard Enterprise