BSC and AEMET drive greenhouse gas monitoring in Spain

• The documentary MareNostrum 5: The supercomputer that transforms the world showcases the potential of supercomputing and AI in fields such as biomedicine, climate change, and energy efficiency, bringing it closer to the general public.
• BSC accelerates its transition towards becoming a public and European artificial intelligence center, with initiatives such as the BSC AI Factory and the new BSC AI Institute.

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) celebrated its 20th anniversary this Wednesday with an institutional event at the Vèrtex Auditorium on the North Campus of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). The event brought together political authorities, representatives from the academic, scientific, business, and cultural spheres, as well as collaborators and professionals who have been part of the center's history since its founding in 2005.

The highlight of the day was the screening of a preview of the documentary MareNostrum 5: the supercomputer that transforms the world, an audiovisual production that brings the impact of supercomputing in various fields to the general public. Using the installation process of MareNostrum 5 as a common thread, the documentary shows how this large scientific infrastructure, equipped with thousands of processors working in parallel, makes it possible to tackle major global challenges such as climate change, precision medicine, chip design, a more sustainable aviation system, and the search for new energy sources.

The documentary also features some of the key locations involved in the construction of MareNostrum 5, such as Lenovo’s production centers in Budapest (Hungary) and Eviden’s facilities in Angers (France). The full film, supported by the Barcelona City Council, will soon be available on various public channels.

BSC’s director and founder, Mateo Valero, delivered an emotional speech highlighting the center’s main milestones. “2025 is a historic year. We are celebrating 20 years of BSC and 40 years of CEPBA, the first research center in Spain dedicated to parallel computing, the seed of what we are today: an institution of scientific excellence and social relevance, committed to continuing to lead Europe’s technological development to address the great challenges of our time”, said Valero.

The event also featured a live performance by artist Maria Arnal, who performed songs from her latest work, Ama. Arnal has collaborated with researchers from the BSC’s Data Analysis and Visualization Group to integrate artificial intelligence technologies into the artistic creation process, exploring voice cloning and synthesis as new digital vocal instruments, always from an ethical perspective.

The program also included a round table on supercomputing and artificial intelligence, featuring Cristian Canton, BSC’s Associate Director; Elisenda Bou, telecommunications engineer and Princess of Girona Award recipient; Carme Rovira, ICREA professor at the University of Barcelona and user of the Red Española de Supercomputación (RES); and Alfonso Valencia, ICREA professor and director of BSC’s Life Sciences Department.

“Europe needs to accelerate its technological development to catch up with powers like the United States and China, and to advance in the race for technological sovereignty. In the coming years, driven by the BSC’s momentum, Barcelona, Catalonia, and Spain will play a strategic role in this effort, having a global scientific and technological impact that will help secure that sovereignty and continue serving as a catalyst for knowledge, innovation, and prosperity,” said Cristian Canton, Associate Director of the BSC.

Frontier research at the service of society

Since its founding in 2005, BSC has grown from just over 60 employees to nearly 1,400 professionals of 60 nationalities. The center was created thanks to collaboration between the Spanish government, the Catalan government, and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). “This institutional alliance is still in place and has been key to consolidating BSC as the largest supercomputing center in Europe, serving thousands of researchers”, said the director of BSC.

Scientific activity, focused on Computer Science, Earth Science, Life Science, and Engineering, has expanded into new disciplines, including Social Sciences and Computational Humanities. Currently, more than 320 professionals work on artificial intelligence applied to fields such as biomedicine, climate, and language models with a public, inclusive, and transformative vocation. The creation of the new BSC AI Institute reinforces this strategic transition toward a center model focused on promoting responsible artificial intelligence with a strong social impact.

The BSC's commitment to education and equality is reflected in initiatives such as We are Young Women Researchers, a leading educational program in Spain that promotes scientific vocations among primary school students, especially girls. Since 2018, more than 40,000 students have participated in this initiative, which since last year has been extended to educational centers throughout Spain thanks to collaboration with the Red Española de Supercomputación (RES).

MareNostrum: Driving science in a unique space

In 2004, a year before BSC was founded, the first MareNostrum was launched in the iconic deconsecrated chapel on the UPC's North Campus, the result of an agreement between the Spanish government and IBM. At the time, it was the most powerful computer in Europe and the fourth most powerful in the world, placing Spain among the elite in high-performance computing. Its unique location, which housed the first four versions of the supercomputer, earned it recognition in 2017 as “the most beautiful supercomputer in the world.”

In December 2023, MareNostrum left the chapel of the Torre Girona for the first time to move to the center's new headquarters. MareNostrum 5, one of the most complete and versatile machines in the world at the service of the scientific community, made BSC the only supercomputing center in Europe with two systems among the top 20 in the ranking of the most powerful supercomputers on the planet, the LINPACK Top500, which ranked the accelerated partition of MareNostrum 5 as the third most powerful in Europe and eighth in the world.

The historic chapel of Torre Girona now houses Quantum Spain's digital quantum computer, the first in Spain developed with 100% European technology, and is preparing to host a second analog quantum system from the European quantum computing network. Both are part of MareNostrum Ona, the quantum system connected to MareNostrum 5. In addition, next year the chapel will host the expansion of MareNostrum 5, which will increase its processing capacity by almost 50% and place Barcelona, Catalonia, and Spain at the forefront of artificial intelligence technology globally.

MareNostrum 6, the next challenge

Another major milestone presented during the event was the creation of the BSC AI Factory, the first artificial intelligence factory in Spain and one of the first in Europe, which will offer companies, especially startups and SMEs, access to advanced computational resources and R&D services to boost the development of AI. Also presented was the DARE project, Europe’s largest chip design initiative, led by BSC and crucial for innovation, competitiveness, and technological autonomy in Europe.

With its sights set on the challenges ahead, BSC faces the future with the goal of reaffirming its role as an international leader in supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and scientific research. "MareNostrum 6 will be our next big step. Given the current geopolitical realities and economic, social, and environmental challenges, AI and supercomputing will play an even more fundamental role. Our commitment to Europe is firm: we want MareNostrum 6 to incorporate European technology and be a symbol of digital sovereignty", concluded Valero.

Authority citations

Juan Cruz Cigudosa, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Universities, and President of the BSC-CNS Governing Council: "BSC is Spain’s great digital brain, a symbol of our new knowledge-based economy. As the main node of the Spanish Supercomputing Network, it brings together talent, territory, and the future. It also shows that intelligence can be built collectively—through cooperation, vision, and a commitment to the public good."

Núria Montserrat, Catalan Minister of Research and Universities: "Over the past 20 years, BSC has done much more than manage supercomputers — it has generated knowledge, trained generations of talent, and placed Catalonia and Spain on the global map of research and performance. Today, the BSC is a leading research center in fields such as AI, climate simulation, biomedicine, and the energy transition. It is a place where research, science, technology — and above all, humanity — work together to anticipate the future."

Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona: "Barcelona is proud to host the BSC, showcasing the city’s ability to attract talent and make the most of our strengths. The BSC was established here because, above all, the city offered a strong infrastructure through the UPC. Everything developed at the BSC impacts people’s lives — from finding faster, more efficient ways to cure diseases, to improving air quality, managing mobility, and planning the city of the future. That’s why the City Council works closely with the BSC and will continue to support and contribute to its growth in the years ahead."

Anders Jensen, Executive Director of EuroHPC JU: “Congratulations to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center for being a key contributor to supercomputing in Europe and for hosting some of the most beautiful supercomputers, which have powered numerous outstanding projects in support of European research and innovation.”