German Chancellor Friedrich Merz officially inaugurated JUPITER on 5 September, marking a major milestone for Europe’s technological ambitions. JUPITER, the continent’s first exascale supercomputer, has achieved a peak performance of over one exaflop—equal to one quintillion (10¹⁸) operations per second—placing it among the world’s most powerful computing systems. It is now the fourth-fastest supercomputer globally, trailing only the United States’ El Capitan, Frontier, and Aurora. The supercomputer, officially known as the Joint Undertaking Pioneer for Innovative and Transformative Exascale Research, has been under development since 2018. Funded by the European Commission and Germany, it is housed at the Jülich Research Centre in western Germany. JUPITER runs on approximately 24,000 NVIDIA chips and is capable of delivering more than 1,000 petaflops at peak performance, a level of computational power that far exceeds that of standard consumer devices—such as a typical laptop, which operates at around one teraflop. One of JUPITER’s defining features is its commitment to sustainability. The European Union states that the system runs entirely on renewable energy, sourced through Germany’s national grid. This makes it the most energy-efficient supercomputer in the world, a crucial advantage given the massive power demands of such machines. At full load, JUPITER consumes 17 megawatts—enough to power roughly 11,000 homes—raising concerns about infrastructure strain in local communities, as noted by computer scientist Kirk Cameron of Virginia Tech. JUPITER’s launch is seen as a turning point for Europe, which has lagged behind the United States and China in the global AI race. The system provides European researchers with direct access to world-class computing resources, reducing reliance on foreign supercomputers. “It’s absolutely a big deal,” Cameron said. “It’s great to see Europe finally stepping into the race with real infrastructure.” Researchers across Europe can apply to use JUPITER twice a year, with 30 projects already selected. These cover a broad range of fields, including artificial intelligence, particularly the development of foundation models and video generation systems, climate modeling, particle physics, clean energy solutions, and biomedical research focused on drug discovery and disease control. Thomas Lippert, project lead at Jülich, emphasized that JUPITER is not just a machine—it’s an investment in future talent and technological sovereignty. “Our economy and welfare depend on these technologies,” he said. With its combination of raw power, environmental responsibility, and strategic importance, JUPITER represents a bold step toward Europe’s long-term goal of becoming a leader in advanced computing and AI innovation.