NEWS

Supercomputers are extremely energy-hungry, and high-performance computing (HPC) centers like the RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) rely on direct water cooling to lower the energy costs for their high-performance systems. Compared to air cooling, this method is significantly more economical, and the waste heat from the systems can be used to heat nearby offices and buildings. Now, both computing centres are pooling their expertise to ensure the energy and resource-efficient operation of their next-generation supercomputers. During SC Asia in Osaka, Prof. Satoshi Matsuoka, Director of the RIKEN Center for Computational Science, and Prof. Dieter Kranzlmüller, Chairman of the LRZ's Board of Directors, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support these goals.

The collaboration aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge regarding direct, hot-water cooling, thermal optimisation, heat recovery, and energy-aware scheduling of computing tasks. To this end, the two scientific computing centres intend to conduct a comparative analysis of computer technology and jointly develop tools for monitoring and managing tasks while they are planning the successors to their current flagship supercomputers: the Bavarian Blue Lion at LRZ and the Japanese FugakuNext at RIKEN-CCS.

“High-performance computing is an essential tool for science and research, from astrophysics and life sciences to environmental sciences," said Prof. Dieter Kranzlmüller, Chairman of the Board of Directors at LRZ. "However, these highly complex systems consume a lot of power, but the potential for optimization is just as great. I am very much looking forward to working closely with RIKEN — it will benefit science and help us further increase the efficiency of our supercomputers.”

For more details, please visit the original LRZ press release:  https://www.lrz.de/en/news/detail/riken-r-ccs-and-lrz-collaborate