Available Hardware

The nine NHR centers offer a powerful HPC infrastructure

The hardware at the NHR centers is available free of charge to researchers at German universities and can be accessed through an Application Process.
The NHR centers primarily provide CPU resources, while a growing number of GPUs are already available. As the centers differ in their system architectures, it is recommended to review the specific capabilities of each site. Data storage is currently offered in combination with computational projects; dedicated storage solutions for use within the NFDI are planned for the near future.

HPC Systems

From Nodes to Large-Scale Infrastructure

From compute nodes to the overall architecture of an HPC center, this introduction outlines the key components of modern high-performance computing infrastructure and how they interact to support large-scale scientific workloads. The technical specifications of the NHR systems of our Centers are listed below. Please note that the accompanying material is currently available in German only.

NHR Centers

Interior of the NHR@FAU data centre at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, showing server racks with green and yellow indicator lights from brands including Vertiv and Megware, in a dimly lit machine room.

NHR@FAU

Erlangen-Nürnberg

Focus areas of NHR@FAU include atomistic simulations in all fields of science, performance engineering for CPUs/GPUs, hardware-efficient sparse linear algebra, and AI/ML research

CPU Cores: 161.632 GPUs: 536
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Exterior view of the NHR computing centre building at Burckhardtweg, showing a modern multi-storey structure with a grid-patterned facade and a glass entrance, under a clear blue sky.

NHR@Göttingen

Göttingen

NHR@Göttingen is an HPC center specializing in digital humanities, AI & big data, life sciences, and quantum computing. Its focus is on data-intensive applications, maximum usability and the highest level of data security.

CPU Cores: 136.320 GPUs: 168
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Interior of a high-performance computing data centre, showing two long rows of server racks illuminated in blue light with dense cable connections, forming a symmetrical corridor.

NHR@KIT

Karlsruhe

NHR@KIT covers Earth System Science, particle/astroparticle physics, energy & mobility engineering, and materials science, with expertise in research software engineering and secure, energy efficient HPC operations.

CPU Cores: 46.360 GPUs: 808
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Composite image showing the NHR@SW identity: top left the NHR SW logo, top right a close-up of server LEDs, bottom left the colourful MOGON supercomputer cabinets with NHR@SW branding and university logos, bottom right a long corridor of black server racks with green structural pillars.

NHR@SW

Mainz, Frankfurt, Saarbrücken, Kaiserslautern-Landau

NHR@SW brings together four universities to provide cutting-edge HPC systems, expert support, and AI- and quantum-driven methods for tackling complex computational and data-intensive research challenges.

CPU Cores: 95.040 GPUs: 936
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Exterior evening view of the Lehmann-Zentrum building at TU Dresden, a modern dark grey concrete structure with illuminated interior staircase and glass facade, surrounded by green lawn. Photo: Robert Gommlich.

NHR@TUD

Dresden

NHR@TUD promotes efficient use of HPC resources and offers tools, consulting, and training, focusing on data analytics, AI, and performance optimization, especially in Life and Earth System Sciences.

CPU Cores: 96.896 GPUs: 416
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Interior of the ZIB (Zuse Institute Berlin) data centre, showing a long corridor of black server racks with yellow safety markings. The front rack features a portrait of Lise Meitner with her name written in script.

NHR@ZIB

Berlin

NHR@ZIB advances computationally intensive research by providing access to powerful HPC systems, collaborative expert support, and AI-ready infrastructure for a broad range of scientific disciplines.

CPU Cores: 128.448 GPUs: 256
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Server cabinets of an NHR high-performance computing system decorated with abstract black and red artistic designs, with liquid cooling pipes visible on top, in a white computer room.

NHR4CES@RWTH

Aachen

NHR4CES@RWTH, in collaboration with NHR4CES@TUDa, focuses on providing hardware and scientific support, particularly for engineering applications and their interface with materials and the life sciences.

CPU Cores: 120.192 GPUs: 148
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Close-up of a supercomputer cabinet labelled "Lichtenberg II – Ausbaustufe 2" at TU Darmstadt, decorated with a graphic of a city skyline with colourful data visualisation lines in green and blue.

NHR4CES@TUDa

Darmstadt

NHR4CES@TUDa, in collaboration with NHR4CES@RWTH, focuses on providing hardware and scientific support, particularly for engineering applications and their interface with materials and the life sciences.

CPU Cores: 120.888 GPUs: 100
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Aerial view of the Paderborn Center for Parallel Computing (PC2) building, a flat two-storey structure with a white perforated facade and cooling units on the roof, situated on a university campus.

PC²

Paderborn

The PC2 support team is highly qualified across multiple fields, including solid-state physics, materials science, chemistry, optoelectronics/photonics/quantum computing, FPGA/GPU development, and scientific ML/AI.

CPU Cores: 201.344 GPUs: 176
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