ACQUISITION, DELIVERY, INSTALLATION AND HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE OF INNOVATE INDUSTRIAL GRADE SUPERCOMPUTER – FOR THE EUROPEAN HIGH PERFORMAN...

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking has published a public procurement to select a single vendor or consortium to supply, deliver, install and provide hardware and software maintenance for the INNOVATE industrial-grade supercomputer to be hosted and operated by CINECA at the DAMA Technopole in Bologna, Italy. The estimated contract value is €11,615,385 and the procurement covers installation, commissioning and ongoing maintenance and support. Electronic tenders must be submitted via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 8 September 2026 and bidders must meet the technical, financial and professional capacity requirements set out in the tender documents.

Tendering authority and purpose

Summary

Procurement by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) for the supply, delivery, installation and hardware and software maintenance of the INNOVATE industrial-grade high performance computing system. The system will be hosted and operated by CINECA at the DAMA Technopole in Bologna to provide advanced HPC, AI, cloud and data services for European industry.

Estimated contract value and duration:Estimated overall contract amount approx. €11,615,385; planned contract execution period around 68 months; Call identifier EUROHPC/2026/OP/0009 ¹.

1. 1Who can apply: companies or consortia able to supply, install and maintain large-scale HPC hardware and associated software (follow tender documents for formal eligibility and selection criteria).
2. 2Submission: electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission).

Procurement documents published on the Funding & Tenders Portal include tender specifications, technical response template, draft contract and financial offer form. See the official notice for full tender documentation and instructions Funding & Tenders Portal. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Tender reference EUROHPC/2026/OP/0009 and all related procurement documents are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at the link provided above.

Opportunity Summary

What this procurement is about

The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has published a call for tender (Call Identifier EUROHPC/2026/OP/0009) to select a vendor to acquire, deliver, install and provide hardware and software maintenance for an industrial-grade high performance computing system named INNOVATE. The system will be hosted and operated by CINECA at the DAMA Technopole in Bologna, Italy, and will provide advanced computing, artificial intelligence, cloud and data processing services targeted at European industry.

Lead contracting authority:European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), procurement administered via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Nature of contract:Public procurement for supplies (acquisition of hardware and associated software plus installation and maintenance). Planned contract duration: procurement planned period 68 months (as indicated). Estimated overall contract value: €11,615,385.

Key Facts and Administrative Details

Call identifier EUROHPC/2026/OP/0009. Main CPV 30211100. Submission method:mandatory electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (ESUBMISSION). Tender validity period indicated as 4 months. Open tender event date recorded as 10 September 2026. Submission deadline 8 September 2026 at 17:00:59 (Europe/Luxembourg timezone) and a prior deadline for additional information requests ending 31 August 2026. Procurement documents were published 16 July 2026.

1. 1Estimated overall contract amount: €11,615,385.
2. 2Publication date: 16 July 2026 (procurement documents published).
3. 3Submission deadline (closing): 8 September 2026, 17:00:59 (CEST/CEST+?), portal timezone Europe/Luxembourg.
4. 4Open tender event / public opening: 10 September 2026 at 11:30 (local time indicated).
5. 5Submission method: electronic submission through the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Eligibility, Selection and Award Information

This is a public supply procurement. The procurement documents include administrative tender specifications, technical specifications, an invitation to tender, a draft contract, a technical response template and a financial response template. Award criteria are quality and price; the administrative part and procurement documents must be consulted for the precise weighting and sub-criteria.

Eligible Applicant Types:Suppliers of high-performance computing hardware and software, system integrators, large enterprises and consortia including industrial vendors and service providers. The procurement is not SME-specific (smeSuitableIndicator: false). Eligible participants must meet procurement selection criteria (economic, financial, technical and professional capacity) specified in the tender documents; public bodies and research organisations are not direct grant beneficiaries but may participate in consortia where procurement rules allow subcontracting or consortium arrangements as defined in the tender specifications.

Funding Type:Public procurement / contract for supplies. This is not a grant, loan or equity instrument. EuroHPC JU will award a supply and maintenance contract under standard procurement procedures.

Consortium Requirement:The tender is structured as a single procurement project with one lot (LOT-0001). A single contracting party/consortium contractor will be selected to fulfil the contract. Bidders may form consortia or joint ventures where permitted by the tendering rules to demonstrate required capacity; the contract will be awarded to one economic operator (single award) covering all activities in the lot.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The procurement is published by a European Joint Undertaking and is open through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Bidders from EU Member States and other countries allowed to participate under the procurement rules applying to EuroHPC JU procurements (typically EU/EEA and countries covered by the EU procurement rules or specific participation rules in the tender documents) can participate. The system will be installed and operated in Italy; CINECA is the hosting operator.

Target Sector:High Performance Computing, supercomputing hardware and software, artificial intelligence, cloud and data processing services, industrial digital infrastructure.

Mentioned Countries:Italy (hosting location: DAMA Technopole, Bologna). The contracting authority is a European-level Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), implying EU-wide procurement coverage.

Project Stage:Procurement for acquisition, delivery and installation followed by operational maintenance and support: stages include specification and procurement (current), delivery and installation (deployment), and ongoing maintenance and operations (operation and sustainment). The project therefore covers procurement through deployment to long-term maintenance.

Funding Amount:Estimated overall contract amount: €11,615,385. This is the estimated procedure value published in the portal and represents the budget range for the supply, installation and maintenance contract.

Application Type and Submission Method:Open call via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submission is electronic mandatory (ESUBMISSION) through the Funding & Tenders Portal. Tenderers must register and submit the response using the portal e-forms and upload required documents before the stated deadline.

Nature of Support:This is a contracting opportunity where the successful bidder receives monetary payment from EuroHPC JU under the contract in exchange for supplied hardware, software, installation services and maintenance services. The support is commercial contract payments, not grant funding.

Application Stages:At minimum: 1) Submission and administrative/selection check, 2) Evaluation of technical and financial offers against award criteria, 3) Contract award and signature, 4) Post-award contract execution (delivery, installation, maintenance). For bidders this effectively amounts to 3–4 stages from tender submission to contract execution.

Success Rates:Not specified in the procurement documentation. As a single-award public tender, success rate depends on number and quality of bids; procurement notices do not publish historical success rates.

Co-funding Requirement:Not applicable in the grant sense. This is a paid public contract; bidders price the supply and services they will deliver and will be paid under contract terms. There is no applicant co-funding requirement described; however, bidders must meet any financial capacity and guarantee requirements in the selection criteria.

Tender Documents, Templates and Required Submission Components

The procurement package published on 16 July 2026 includes the following core documents which bidders must consult and use to prepare their offer. Bidders must follow the templates and response structure provided.

1. 1EN-Invitation_to_tender_EUROHPC2026OP0009_INNOVATE Industrial Supercomputer_V1.pdf (Invitation to tender).
2. 2INNOVATE_Tender Specifications_Administrative Part-Award-Criteria -FINAL_V1.pdf (Tender specifications - administrative part and award criteria).
3. 3INNOVATE-technical-specifications-FINAL_V1.pdf (Technical specifications describing required system architecture, performance, reliability, operational environment and maintenance obligations).
4. 4INNOVATE-Response-Template-FINAL_V1.docx (Annex 7: Technical Response Template) — bidders must use this to structure their technical offer and demonstrate compliance with technical requirements.
5. 5Annex6_Financial_Reponse-INNOVATE_V1.xlsx (Financial offer form) — mandatory financial response template for pricing.
6. 6INNOVATE-Industrial-grade Supercomputer_Draft contract_V1.docx (Draft contract) — contains contractual terms, obligations, liability, service levels and maintenance schedules.
7. 7Any additional forms or declarations specified in the administrative part (e.g., selection and exclusion declarations, proof of financial/technical capacity).

Templates and the technical response template must be completed exactly as requested. The administrative part sets out selection and exclusion criteria (including required evidence), the award criteria and scoring method. The technical specifications prescribe minimum performance, reliability, energy/efficiency and interoperability requirements and installation constraints at the CINECA DAMA Technopole site.

Evaluation and Award Criteria

Awarding criteria are quality and price with subordinate criteria defined in the administrative tender specifications. The administrative part explicitly instructs bidders to consult the procurement documents for detailed scoring, weighting and sub-criteria. Quality criteria will address conformance to technical specifications, performance, energy efficiency, maintainability, warranties and lifecycle support. Price will be evaluated using the provided financial template.

Logistics, Location and Operational Aspects

The INNOVATE supercomputer will be physically hosted at the DAMA Technopole in Bologna, Italy and operated by CINECA. The tender includes obligations for delivery, on-site installation, integration, acceptance testing, commissioning, start-up support, and ongoing hardware and software maintenance for the contractual period. The technical specifications define the data center environment, power, cooling and physical constraints; bidders must demonstrate compliance with site requirements and coordinate installation activities with the hosting entity (CINECA).

Procurement Process and Timetable

1. 1Publication of procurement documents: 16 July 2026.
2. 2Consideration/change window for documents indicated until 30 July 2026 for changed document notifications.
3. 3Deadline for additional information requests: 31 August 2026.
4. 4Tender submission deadline (closing): 8 September 2026, 17:00:59 (portal).
5. 5Open tender event / public opening: 10 September 2026 at 11:30.
6. 6Estimated contract award and signature: proceedings and dates will follow evaluation; the procurement notice indicates pending signature of the procurement contract.

Tenderers should monitor the Funding & Tenders Portal notice for any updates, clarifications, corrigenda or Q&A documents published within the indicated consideration/change period and ahead of the submission deadline.

Where to find the official procurement notice and documents:All official procurement documents and templates are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal tender details page for reference EUROHPC/2026/OP/0009 and were published 16 July 2026. The portal record link is provided in the procurement citation and invitation documents EU Funding & Tenders Portal - Tender Details. ¹

Practical Advice for Bidders

Bidders should:review all published documents (administrative, technical and draft contract), use the provided technical and financial response templates, ensure they meet selection criteria and provide required evidence (financial statements, references, certificates), plan logistics for delivery and installation at CINECA DAMA Technopole Bologna, prepare service level and maintenance proposals that meet contractual obligations, and submit the complete electronic tender via the Funding & Tenders Portal before the closing time. Clarification requests must be sent before the additional information deadline (31 August 2026). Non-conformant or late bids will be rejected.

Comprehensive Summary

This procurement seeks a single vendor or vendor consortium to supply an industrial-grade supercomputer system (INNOVATE), deliver and install it at DAMA Technopole in Bologna, and provide hardware and software maintenance services over the contract period. The procurement is run by EuroHPC JU and hosted/operated by CINECA. The estimated contract value is €11,615,385 and the procurement covers specification compliance, site installation, commissioning, and ongoing support. Bidders must submit electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 8 September 2026 and must complete the provided technical and financial templates. Award will be based on quality and price as set out in the administrative tender specifications. Interested suppliers should download the official documents, verify selection criteria and evidence requirements, coordinate any consortium arrangements legally and contractually in advance, and prepare to meet the technical, logistical and contractual obligations defined in the tender package.

Footnotes

1. 1Primary procurement documents published 16 July 2026 on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal include: Invitation to tender, Administrative Tender Specifications (Award Criteria), Technical Specifications, Technical Response Template (Annex 7), Financial Response template (Annex 6) and Draft Contract. Access the portal tender page to download official files and any subsequent clarifications.

Opportunity Summary

This tender seeks a vendor to acquire, deliver, install, and maintain hardware and software for the INNOVATE industrial-grade supercomputer, the first industry-dedicated system in the EuroHPC infrastructure, to be hosted at CINECA’s DAMA Technopole in Bologna, Italy [[5]][[8]].

The system will provide advanced computing, AI, cloud, and data processing services specifically for European industry, managed by CINECA with support from a consortium of leading Italian industrial and research organizations [[5]][[8]].

Key Tender Details

Deadlines:The primary deadline for tender submission is 8 September 2026 at 17:00 CET [[6]]. A secondary deadline date of 1 January 2026 appears in metadata but is inconsistent with the active launch announcement in July 2026, indicating the September 2026 date is the correct active deadline [[6]].

Eligibility and Contractor Requirements

Prospective contractors must have proven experience in acquiring, delivering, installing, and maintaining supercomputers in similar high-performance environments [[7]][[9]].

The tender is an open procedure, meaning any economic operator meeting the technical and financial criteria can submit a bid, provided they can demonstrate the required track record in HPC infrastructure deployment [[4]][[9]].

Project Scope and Technical Focus

1. 1Acquisition of industrial-grade HPC hardware and software
2. 2Delivery and physical installation at DAMA Technopole, Bologna
3. 3Hardware and software maintenance services
4. 4Provision of advanced computing, AI, cloud, and data processing services
5. 5Support for industrial applications including predictive maintenance and process optimization

Unlike previous EuroHPC systems focused on scientific research, INNOVATE is explicitly designed for industrial use, ensuring optimal standards in accessibility, operation, and security for private-sector users [[8]][[21]].

Consortium and Funding Structure

The INNOVATE consortium is led by CINECA and includes partners such as ICSC, Almawave, Autostrade per l’Italia, BI-REX, Fondazione IFAB, Snam, and Unipol Assicurazioni [[8]][[11]].

This is the first EuroHPC co-funded initiative targeted at private-sector consortia, with EuroHPC contributing 35% and the industrial partners covering the remaining 65% [[8]][[11]].

Application and Submission Process

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU’s eSubmission portal [[19]].

Tender documents and the official invitation are accessible through the European Commission’s funding and tenders portal at the provided opportunity URL [[5]][[6]].

Tenderers may request to attend the opening session by emailing tenders@eurohpc-ju.europa.eu no later than three hours before the scheduled start [[13]].

Footnotes

1. 1The total estimated project cost of €16.9 million is confirmed by the Italian consortium press release, distinguishing it from the €11.6 million figure which may refer to a specific funding tranche or earlier estimate [[11]][[6]].
2. 2While metadata lists a deadline of 1 January 2026, the official EuroHPC JU announcement dated 16 July 2026 explicitly states the submission deadline is 8 September 2026, confirming the latter as the active date [[6]].