European Processor Initiative

Short description: European processor project

Logo of the European Processor Initiative

The European Processor Initiative (EPI) is a European processor project to design and build a new family of European low-power processors for supercomputers, Big Data, automotive,^[1] and offering high performance on traditional HPC applications and emerging applications such as on machine learning. It is led by a consortium of European companies and universities. The project is divided in multiple phases funded under Specific Grant Agreements. The first grant agreement is implemented under the European Commission program Horizon 2020 (FPA: 800928) in the December 2018 to November 2021 time span. The second agreement will be implemented afterwards under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking which issued a call answered to in January 2021 by the same consortium (H2020-JTI-EuroHPC-2020-02 FPA in EPI (phase II)).

The processor is a SoC, of RISC technology, implementing microprocessor cores of ARM architecture and accelerators, specialised in matrix calculations and deep learning for artificial intelligence. The processor is designed to be integrated in an exascale supercomputer, but also to be implemented in cars.

Objectives

The aim of the EPI project is to design and build a high-performance, low-power processor, implementing vector instructions and specific accelerators, such as accelerators for AI, with high-bandwidth memory access. The design will be based on the results obtained through an intensive use of simulation, the development of a complete software stack and the use of advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies. During the development of the processor, a co-design methodology will be implemented to ensure that the processor is suitable for efficiently running many applications and that it is equipped with the appropriate software development tools. The objective of the EPI is to develop European know-how on the design and construction of processors for high-performance computing, allowing Europe technological sovereignty.^{[citation needed]}

Members

EPI is a non-legal entity, a project organized by 30 institutions from 10 countries in Europe. The members of the consortium are:^[2]

Members of the EPI consortium
Organization	type	Industry	Country
Atos	Company	IT services and consulting	France
BSC	Public research center	Supercomputing	Spain
Infineon	Company	Semiconductors	Germany
Semidynamics	Company	Semiconductors	Spain
CEA	Public research center	Energy, defense, security, IT, health	France
Chalmers University of Technology	Private university	Scientific and technological research, education	Sweden
ETH Zurich	Public university	Scientific and technological research, education	Switzerland
Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas	Public research center	Scientific and technological research	Greece
GENCI	State-owned company	Supercomputing	France
Tecnico Lisboa	Public university	Scientific and technological research, education	Portugal
Forschungszentrum Jülich	Public research center	Scientific and technological research	Germany
University of Bologna	Public university	Scientific and technological research, education	Italy
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb	Public university	Scientific and technological research, education	Croatia
Fraunhofer	Public research center	Applied science	Germany
STMicroelectronics Italy	Company	Semiconductors	Italy
E4 Computer Engineering	Company	Engineering	Italy
University of Pisa	Public university	Scientific and technological research, education	Italy
Surf	Public research center	Scientific and technological research	Netherlands
Kalray	Company	Semiconductors	France
Extoll	Company	Semiconductors	Germany
CINECA	Public research center	Scientific and technological research	Italy
BMW Group	Company	Automobile	Germany
Elektrobit	Company	Automobile, software	Germany
Prove & Run	Company	Software	France
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology	Public university	Scientific and technological research, education	Germany
Menta	Company	Semiconductors	France
SiPearl	Company	Semiconductors	France / Germany
Kernkonzept	Company	Software	Germany
Leonardo	Company	Software	Italy
ZeroPoint Technologies	Company	Software	Sweden

History

The initiative started in 2015, in the aim to produce an exascale supercomputer by 2023. The first phase of the project started in December 2018.^[3] In the summer of 2019, the basis of the architecture was decided.^[4] In January 2020, the first prototype was presented.^[5]

Illustration of EPI's first working RISC-V chip sample in 2021.

Organization of the project

The European Processor Initiative has five streams of operation. The first four are technical streams (Common Platform and Global Architecture, HPC General Purpose Processor, Accelerator, Automotive platform), while the last one is dedicated to the coordination and communication activities.

References

↑ Mario Kovač, Dominik Reinhardt, Oliver Jesorsky, Matthias Traub, Jean-Marc Denis, Philippe Notton. "European Processor Initiative (EPI)—An Approach for a Future Automotive eHPC Semiconductor Platform". In: Langheim J. (eds) Electronic Components and Systems for Automotive Applications. Lecture Notes in Mobility. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14156-1_15 pp 185-195 First online: 26 May 2019. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-14156-1_15
↑ Community Research and Development Information Service "SGA1 (Specific Grant Agreement 1) OF THE EUROPEAN PROCESSOR INITIATIVE (EPI)". CORDIS Website. Luxembourg: EU Publications Office. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/826647 [lists partners and budget per partner]
↑ "EPI : un premier processeur HPC made in Europe en développement" (in fr). 2019-06-10. https://www.generation-nt.com/actualites/european-processor-initiative-design-processeur-hpc-1965749.
↑ "How the European Processor Initiative is Leveraging RISC-V for the Future of Supercomputing" (in en). 22 August 2019. https://insidehpc.com/2019/08/how-the-european-processor-initiative-is-leveraging-risc-v-for-the-future-of-supercomputing/.
↑ Michael Feldman (27 January 2020). "European Processor Initiative Readies Prototype" (in en). https://www.nextplatform.com/2020/01/27/european-processor-initiative-readies-prototype/.

Bibliography

Michael Feldman. "European Processor Initiative Readies Prototype". The Next Platform. Boone, NC: January 27, 2020. https://www.nextplatform.com/2020/01/27/european-processor-initiative-readies-prototype/
Michael Feldman. "First European Pre-Exascale Supercomputers Forgo Homegrown CPUs". The Next Platform. Boone, NC: November 20, 2019. https://www.nextplatform.com/2019/11/20/first-european-pre-exascale-supercomputers-forgo-homegrown-cpus/ [talks about the delay in EPI]
Nitin Dahad. "European Processor Initiative Announces Common Platform For HPC." EE Times Europe. Ebersberg, Germany. November 5, 2019. https://www.eetimes.eu/european-processor-initiative-announces-common-platform-for-hpc/
Doug Black. "An Update on the European Processor Initiative". Inside HPC. 26 September 2019. https://insidehpc.com/2019/09/an-update-on-the-european-processor-initiative/
Calista Redmond. "How the European Processor Initiative is Leveraging RISC-V for the Future of Supercomputing". Inside HPC. Westborough, MA. 22 August 2019. https://insidehpc.com/2019/08/how-the-european-processor-initiative-is-leveraging-risc-v-for-the-future-of-supercomputing/
Sebastian Moss. "European Processor Initiative delivers first architectural designs to the European Commission". Data Centre Dynamics. London: June 4, 2019. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/six-months-european-processor-initiative-delivers-architectural-designs-european-commission/
Dan Olds. "The Plan for Europe’s Homegrown Exascale HPC". The Next Platform. Boone, NC: October 20, 2018. https://www.nextplatform.com/2018/10/24/the-plan-for-europes-homegrown-exascale-hpc/ [presents EPI initial timeline]
European Commission. "European Processor Initiative: Consortium to Develop Microprocessors for Future Supercomputers". R&D World. 26 March 2018. https://www.rdworldonline.com/european-processor-initiative-consortium-to-develop-microprocessors-for-future-supercomputers/

External links

Official website

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Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European Processor Initiative. Read more

[1] Mario Kovač, Dominik Reinhardt, Oliver Jesorsky, Matthias Traub, Jean-Marc Denis, Philippe Notton. "European Processor Initiative (EPI)—An Approach for a Future Automotive eHPC Semiconductor Platform". In: Langheim J. (eds) Electronic Components and Systems for Automotive Applications. Lecture Notes in Mobility. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14156-1_15 pp 185-195 First online: 26 May 2019. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-14156-1_15

[2] Community Research and Development Information Service "SGA1 (Specific Grant Agreement 1) OF THE EUROPEAN PROCESSOR INITIATIVE (EPI)". CORDIS Website. Luxembourg: EU Publications Office. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/826647 [lists partners and budget per partner]

[3] "EPI : un premier processeur HPC made in Europe en développement" (in fr). 2019-06-10. https://www.generation-nt.com/actualites/european-processor-initiative-design-processeur-hpc-1965749.

[insidehpc3-4] "How the European Processor Initiative is Leveraging RISC-V for the Future of Supercomputing" (in en). 22 August 2019. https://insidehpc.com/2019/08/how-the-european-processor-initiative-is-leveraging-risc-v-for-the-future-of-supercomputing/.

[NextPlatform-5] Michael Feldman (27 January 2020). "European Processor Initiative Readies Prototype" (in en). https://www.nextplatform.com/2020/01/27/european-processor-initiative-readies-prototype/.

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