On Wednesday 30 April 2025, Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), together with Luxinnovation, launched a new call for projects to boost innovation in the fields of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI).
In a press release, the ministry explained that this initiative aims to support companies and public research institutions working on projects in these domains, with the goal of accelerating the adoption of AI and/or HPC within Luxembourg’s ecosystem.
The ministry added that the call for projects primarily targets private-sector stakeholders with strong R&D capabilities but limited in-house experience in AI and HPC. By encouraging collaborations between public research and industry, the objective of the call is to support these companies in exploring, adopting and integrating cutting-edge AI and HPC technologies into their operations, thereby accelerating innovation and boosting long-term competitiveness.
A strategic priority of the FNR is to turn public research into a competitive advantage for Luxembourg and to give researchers the opportunity to pursue high-impact research strategies while working with the most innovative private actors. The aim is to raise general awareness of the use of AI and HPC in companies’ R&D activities and to support a sustainable evolution towards a relevant and well developed ecosystem.
According to the ministry, the development of disruptive innovations along with the broader adoption of digital technologies and the fostering of a collaborative ecosystem, supporting technology and knowledge transfer among private and public actors, are key priorities of the government’s strategy to accelerate digital sovereignty. AI and HPC are the technological backbone of the national ambitions.
This joint call for projects will be accompanied by a dedicated portfolio of aid schemes offered by the Ministry of the Economy, which takes into account the varying levels of AI and HPC expertise among private actors.
Objectives
The HPC-AI Joint Call aims to:
- foster innovation and sustainable value creation by stimulating strong partnerships between public research institutions and the industry in the field of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing;
- strengthen the company’s expertise in AI models, enabling their fine-tuning and deployment for relevant use cases and in HPC applications, enhancing capabilities in complex computations such as modelling and simulation, quantum simulation via emulators, data analysis, virtual testing, machine learning and AI, ultimately leveraging the long-term opportunities these technologies offer;
- encourage the implementation of innovative projects that contribute to the development of Luxembourg's economic landscape and are in line with national strategic priorities
- enhance the attractiveness of Luxembourg as an innovation hub based on advanced technological research in AI and HPC;
- fund high-quality, impactful R&D projects that address major challenges, deliver new or improved solutions and clearly demonstrate the benefits of AI and HPC integration for industry and society.
Call topics
This joint call focuses on R&D initiatives in AI and HPC, with particular emphasis on the following application areas:
- AI for Industry and Scientific Innovation: aims to improve industrial processes, enable scientific breakthroughs and create intelligent systems that drive innovation. It includes machine learning, automation and intelligent decision-support systems;
- HPC for Advanced Simulations and Data Processing: targets the use of high-performance computing to conduct large-scale simulations, analyse big data and enable advanced predictive modelling across fields like engineering and environmental science.
- Cross-Domain Projects Combining AI and HPC promote integrated solutions that leverage HPC infrastructure to power large-scale AI models, enabling advanced analytics, optimisation and real-time decision-making for complex, data-intensive challenges.
During the first phase, from Friday 1 May to Wednesday 18 June 2025, companies and interested parties can submit their project outline at: https://research-industry-collaboration.lu/calls/joint-call-ai-hpc-2025
During the second phase, from Monday 21 July to Wednesday 17 September 2025, the full project proposal (FPP) must be submitted by each project participant either to the Ministry of the Economy for companies or to FNR (FNR Grant system) for accredited research organisations.
A webinar to present the objectives of the joint call for projects, as well as the process of preparing applications, followed by a Q&A session will take place on Thursday 15 May 2025 at 11:00.
For further information and to register, see https://joint-calls.research-industry-collaboration.lu/joint-call-high-performance-computing.
