The Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ina Brandes MdL, has handed over the funding approval notice for new high-performance computing capacities at the University of Cologne. Under the name ‘hpcBasisCluster2.NRW’, a cluster of powerful, state-of-the-art processors is being established in North Rhine-Westphalia that will give all participating institutions access to centralized high-performance computers and provide a state-of-the-art system for research and teaching applications in the increasingly important area of artificial intelligence. The total volume of funding, for which 11 universities in NRW participated in the application process, amounts to around 9.9 million euros for an initial period of six years. Nine million of this sum comes from the North Rhine-Westphalian Plan for Good Infrastructure. 900,000 euros are from the universities' own funds.
At the University of Cologne, the hpcBasisCluster.nrw, the most powerful high-performance computer in the area of basic services (Tier 3) in North Rhine-Westphalia and one of the largest systems in its class in Germany, is in the process of gradually being set up. It provides computing power in particular for all those universities that require high computing performance or which do not operate their own data centre. At the university, the new system will be used, for example, to process large amounts of data that will help to better understand the universe, to carry out quantum chemical calculations or to create complex simulations for medical issues.
The hpcBasisCluster.nrw will be set up in two phases at the University of Cologne. The first stage is expected to go into operation at the end of 2026 once the chips to be supplied have been installed. On Thursday, 30 April 2026, Science Minister Ina Brandes presented the funding approval notice for the second expansion phase to the Rector of the University of Cologne, Professor Dr Joybrato Mukherjee, and project manager Professor Dr Stefan Wesner. In its final stage, the hpcBasisCluster.nrw is scheduled to go live at the end of 2027.
Minister of Culture and Science Ina Brandes: “We are creating an excellent infrastructure to match our excellent research and teaching. To this end, we are systematically driving forward the centralized provision of computing capacity to our universities, which we urgently need for the further development of AI and other future technologies. In future, North Rhine-Westphalia will be bringing together research data and high-performance computing in four central computing centres, in order to pool resources where they are being used. Universities will benefit from this in two ways when it comes to AI applications: they will have access to large amounts of data and can benefit from high computing capacities. The centralized administration at four locations is also more efficient and cost-effective.”
The hpcBasisCluster.nrw gives researchers and students easier and more structured access to computing capacities. Around 80 per cent of the system’s provision will pertain to special AI resources. For example, new AI applications and proprietary models can be developed that process highly sensitive data directly on site and independently of foreign and commercial server farm providers. This will minimize any risks arising from political dependencies or external access. With the launch of hpcBasisCluster.nrw at the University of Cologne, the high-performance computer capacities can be utilized throughout the federal state.
Professor Dr Joybrato Mukherjee, Rector of the University of Cologne: “With the hpcBasisCluster.nrw, we will be strengthening the scientific infrastructure in North Rhine-Westphalia in the long term. For the University of Cologne, this represents a decisive step forward in conducting data-intensive research at the highest international level and innovative teaching, especially in the dynamically expanding field of artificial intelligence. I would like to thank the partners involved and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for this forward-looking investment.”
Professor Dr.-Ing. Stefan Wesner, Chief Information Officer and Director of the IT Center University of Cologne: “The path that has begun with the hpcBasisCluster of pooling computing and data-intensive research requirements across universities in North Rhine-Westphalia simplifies the process of cooperation and offers all participating institutions access to modern and powerful computing capacity. I would like to thank the funding bodies and all the institutions involved for entrusting us with the basic supply and provision of AI capacity for research and teaching purposes.”
Media Contact:
Professor Dr.-Ing. Stefan Wesner
IT Center University of Cologne
+49 221 470 89700
wesner(at)uni-koeln(dot)de
Press and Communications Team:
Jan Voelkel
+49 221 470 2356
j.voelkel(at)verw.uni-koeln(dot)de