The Engine of Ambition: Deucalion
At the heart of Portugal’s strategy is Deucalion, the country's most powerful supercomputer. Inaugurated in September 2023 and located at the Minho Advanced Computing Centre (MACC) in Guimarães, Deucalion is a petascale machine capable of performing a staggering
10 million billion calculations per second. Co-funded by the Portuguese government and the European High-Performance Computing (EuroHPC) Joint Undertaking, it represents a significant leap in the nation's computational power. This isn't just about owning a powerful machine; it's about providing the foundational infrastructure for a new era of research and innovation, from artificial intelligence and big data to complex scientific modeling. The supercomputer is already supporting hundreds of research projects and thousands of users.
A Strategy for Digital Sovereignty
Deucalion is a key pillar of Portugal's National Artificial Intelligence Agenda (ANIA), a comprehensive plan to position the country at the forefront of European competitiveness. A primary goal of this strategy is to develop strategic computing capacity and reduce dependency on foreign technology giants. This concept, known as digital sovereignty, is a driving force across Europe. For Portugal, it’s a deliberate choice to control its own digital destiny, ensuring that its data and AI development are not exclusively reliant on infrastructure located and controlled elsewhere. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro recently highlighted this, stating that such investments enable Portugal to face the future with "greater sovereignty and less dependence".
Part of a Bigger European Picture
Portugal's efforts are not happening in isolation. Deucalion is one of several supercomputers deployed across the continent as part of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. This pan-European initiative aims to create a world-class supercomputing ecosystem, allowing member states to pool resources and coordinate efforts to compete globally. By participating, Portugal not only gains access to a network of powerful machines but also contributes its own unique resources to European researchers. Portugal is also a partner in the expansion of Spain's powerful MareNostrum 5 supercomputer in Barcelona, further deepening its integration into Europe's high-performance computing grid.
Fueling Innovation and Research
The ultimate goal of this massive investment is to empower the entire ecosystem, from university labs to startups and large companies. Access to high-performance computing, which was once prohibitively expensive for many, is now available to drive breakthroughs. Researchers can use Deucalion for everything from climate modeling and pharmaceutical design to astrophysics. Crucially, it provides the immense power needed to train large language models (LLMs) and other advanced AI applications. This was recently demonstrated with the launch of Amalia, Portugal's first open-source LLM, which leverages the power of Deucalion to provide a foundational technology for Portuguese companies and public institutions to build upon.
A Blueprint for Ambitious Nations
Portugal's strategy offers a compelling blueprint for how medium-sized nations can carve out a niche in the capital-intensive world of AI. The approach is multi-faceted: secure national infrastructure, foster talent through education, and collaborate on a continental scale to amplify impact. The AI Portugal 2030 strategy, adopted in 19, sets out a long-term vision for a knowledge-intensive economy where AI enhances public services, creates new jobs, and boosts the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By investing in foundational tools like Deucalion, Portugal is betting that possessing the means of digital production is essential for economic resilience and growth in the 21st century.
