NCC Finland

The NCC Finland is coordinated by CSC – IT Center for Science. CSC is a mature and well-established non-profit state enterprise with special tasks. As part of the national research system, we develop, integrate and provide high-quality information technology services and ensure that Finland remains at the forefront of development. 

CSC’s role in the project is to support and improve the capabilities of Finnish users to utilize the possibilities of high-performance computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Academic use of HPC

Modern supercomputers are a necessary research instrument for computing and data-intensive research. The use of supercomputers, or high-performance computing, is becoming more widespread in all fields of science, and access to efficient computing resources gives a significant boost to research and innovations. Supercomputer simulations enable quick and cost-effective research of phenomena that would otherwise be expensive or difficult, or even impossible, to study.

Business use of HPC

Companies can make extensive use of high-performance computing (HPC) as part of product development and innovation activities. Up to 20% of the LUMI supercomputer’s capacity has been reserved for companies, which represents a major national investment. In addition, it is possible to obtain expert support from CSC, collaborate with higher education and research institutions, and apply for funding for R&D projects.

High-performance computing enables new types of product development and innovation utilizing computing, simulation as well as novel methods in data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Trainings

Our training provides you assistance and advice in using our services. Our range of courses includes training for example in scientific computing and data management. You will be guided by our top experts and you can network with other participants. We organize training for both academic and business users as well as beginners and advanced users.

National supercomputers

CSC hosts two national supercomputers, Puhti³ and Mahti⁴. Puhti caters a wide range of use cases from interactive data analysis to medium scale simulations, while Mahti is a supercomputer designed for massively parallel jobs that require large floating-point performance and a capable interconnect. Mahti is in particular geared towards medium to large scale simulations. Also, smaller parallel workloads that are able to use full nodes efficiently can utilize Mahti. 

EuroHPC supercomputer LUMI

CSC is the coordinator of the LUMI consortium (Large Unified Modern Infrastructure)⁵, which hosts the EuroHPC supercomputer LUMI. LUMI is one of the pan-European pre-exascale supercomputers, and it suits specifically for AI development. At the end of 2023, LUMI consortium countries were Finland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Nov 2023, LUMI ranked #5 in the top500 list. It is also one of the world’s most ecological supercomputers.

Kvasi quantum simulator

Kvasi, the Quantum Learning Machine, is a quantum computing simulator helping to use and develop new quantum algorithms. Kvasi provides an ecosystem for developing and simulating quantum algorithms in both ideal and realistic, noisy conditions. Kvasi is capable of simulating algorithms for quantum computers of up to 30+ qubits. Kvasi offers a graphical user interface for the design of quantum algorithms and gates. A command line is also available.

Success stories

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  Finnish start-ups have an exceptional competitive advantage – “This is something that should be announced more loudly,” says Harri Koskimäki from Candour Oy
  Photo: Candour Candour Oy, which is developing a method of facial recognition, has taken a giant leap towards internationalisation by gaining access to a supercomputer. With Business Finland’s financial support, even a start-up does not have to dig… Read more: Finnish start-ups have an exceptional competitive advantage – “This is something that should be announced more loudly,” says Harri Koskimäki from Candour Oy
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  Leveraging high-performance computing in satellite product development
  Photo: ICEYE ICEYE is a Finnish space sector company that operates SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellites. Instead of using conventional cameras, satellite images are taken with microwave radars which enable imaging 24 hours a day, and in difficult… Read more: Leveraging high-performance computing in satellite product development
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  Major time savings with high-performance computing in fire engineering
  Photo: Ramboll When a fire breaks out, reacting fast and taking effective action is absolutely crucial in saving lives. There is no time to lose. This is why the fire safety plans, systems and measures must be designed… Read more: Major time savings with high-performance computing in fire engineering
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  Towards safer navigation and fully automated vessels with AI technologies
  Photo: Groke Groke Technologies is a Finnish company that focuses on developing intelligent methods for autonomous navigation to improve safety at sea. High-performance computing (HPC) plays a vital role in optimizing machine-learning models for computer vision. Navigation is… Read more: Towards safer navigation and fully automated vessels with AI technologies