Eni Launches HPC6: A Breakthrough in Supercomputing to Accelerate Energy Transition

Eni Launches HPC6: A Breakthrough in Supercomputing to Accelerate Energy Transition

(IN BRIEF) Eni has launched HPC6, a cutting-edge supercomputer with a peak performance of 606 PFlop/s, ranking fifth globally and first in Europe for industrial use. HPC6 supports Eni’s decarbonization and energy transition efforts by enhancing CO2 storage research, biofuel production, battery efficiency, and magnetic confinement fusion simulations. Installed in Eni’s Green Data Center near Milan, it features a sustainable liquid cooling system and energy-efficient design. CEO Claudio Descalzi highlighted its role in driving innovation, reducing emissions, and achieving Net Zero goals. HPC6 strengthens Eni’s global competitiveness and fosters partnerships to develop scalable, sustainable energy solutions.

(PRESS RELEASE) MILAN, 20-Nov-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Eni has unveiled its latest high-performance computing system, HPC6, marking a significant milestone in the company’s decarbonization journey. With a peak computational power of 606 PFlop/s—equivalent to over 600 quadrillion operations per second—HPC6 ranks fifth globally on the November 2024 TOP500 list of supercomputers. Notably, it is the top-ranking supercomputer in Europe, the first globally designed for industrial applications, and the only non-US system in the global top five.

The introduction of HPC6 underscores Eni’s commitment to innovation as a driver of value creation and progress in the energy transition. The system will support cutting-edge initiatives, including optimizing industrial operations, enhancing CO2 storage research, improving battery efficiency, advancing biofuel production, and developing innovative materials for biochemistry. Additionally, it will contribute to plasma simulations for magnetic confinement fusion, a critical area of energy research.

HPC6 significantly expands Eni’s computational capacity, surpassing its predecessors HPC4 and HPC5, with a performance leap from 70 PFlop/s to over 600 PFlop/s. Its architecture integrates CPUs and GPUs in a hybrid configuration, leveraging nearly 14,000 GPUs across 3,472 compute nodes for optimized performance and energy efficiency.

Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, emphasized the strategic role of technological innovation in achieving Net Zero goals: “Supercomputing has become indispensable across our business chain, driving efficiency, reducing emissions, and enabling the development of new energy solutions. Our advanced computational capabilities provide a competitive edge on the global stage while accelerating Eni’s transformation and growth.”

Installed within Eni’s Green Data Center near Milan, HPC6 exemplifies the company’s dedication to sustainability. The center is recognized for its energy efficiency and low carbon footprint, featuring an innovative liquid cooling system that absorbs and dissipates 96% of the heat generated by HPC6. This approach ensures optimal energy efficiency while minimizing environmental impact.

Beyond enhancing internal capabilities, HPC6 fosters stronger collaborations between Eni and its Satellite companies and lays the groundwork for strategic partnerships. This aligns with Eni’s history of leveraging high-performance computing to address complex energy challenges and advance its energy transition objectives.

Technical Highlights of HPC6:

• Peak Power: 606 PFlop/s (Rpeak), with 477 PFlop/s sustained (Rmax).
• Architecture: HPE Cray EX4000 and Cray ClusterStor E1000 systems with AMD EPYC CPUs and Instinct MI250X GPUs.
• Node Configuration: 3,472 nodes housing 64-core CPUs and nearly 14,000 GPUs.
• Networking: High-speed, low-latency interconnect via HPE Slingshot technology.
• Energy Efficiency: Liquid cooling system dissipates 96% of heat with a power consumption of 10.17 MVA.

HPC6 reinforces Eni’s leadership in supercomputing for industrial applications and cements its role as a technology-driven pioneer in the energy transition. Through HPC6, Eni is poised to accelerate the development of scalable, sustainable, and economically viable solutions that address the challenges of a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

TECHNICAL NOTE TO EDITORS: 

1. HPC6 employs HPE’s Cray EX4000 and Cray ClusterStor E1000 systems.
2. Computing power: the system can reach an impressive peak computing power of over 606 PFlop/s (Rpeak) and 477 PFlops “sustained” (Rmax), making it one of the most advanced supercomputing infrastructures in the world.
3. Node Composition: each node consists of a 64-core AMD EPYC CPU ™ and four high-performance AMD Instinct™ MI250X GPUs.
4. Size: the system includes 3472 computing nodes housing a total of 13,888 GPU.
5. High-performance networking: The HPE Slingshot network provides high-speed, low-latency interconnect between nodes, facilitating high speed rapid data transfer.
6. Cooling system: the system uses a direct liquid cooling technology that dissipates 96% of generated heat.
7. Power consumption: the system has a maximum power consumption of 10.17 MVA.

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SOURCE: Eni