EU AI Gigafactories: EuroHPC 2025
The European Union is pushing for the establishment of AI Gigafactories to secure the computing power needed for training large AI models in Europe. This initiative, based on the EuroHPC regulation, aims to strengthen Europe's technological autonomy and economic competitiveness, and improve access for research and businesses.
Source: Own representation
Introduction
The discussion surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly shifting from software to infrastructure. Training large AI models requires substantial computing power. The EU is responding to this by establishing AI Gigafactories. The Council of the European Union adopted a position on amending the EuroHPC Regulation on December 9, 2025, , which is intended to enable the establishment of these Gigafactories. The goal is to create large-scale computing and data centers that will make it feasible to train very large models in Europe, thereby strengthening technological autonomy, economic competitiveness, and access for research and businesses.
AI Gigafactories
AI Gigafactories are designed as large-scale AI compute and storage infrastructure capable of developing, training, and operating very large models. They build upon the concept of already existing AI Factories but go significantly beyond them. Official EU descriptions speak of capacities exceeding 100,000 advanced AI chips per facility, while the most powerful AI Factories currently comprise around 25,000 processors. The EU positions this infrastructure as a world-class offering for research, start-ups, and industry to enable European applications and models without being entirely dependent on non-European cloud and chip ecosystems.
Source: eunews.it
Overview of planned and existing EuroHPC AI Gigafactories in Europe.
Development
AI Factories are an ongoing EuroHPC program consolidating AI-optimized supercomputers and support services. It is intended to particularly facilitate access for start-ups, SMEs, and research. According to EU data, 19 AI Factories and 13 'AI Factory Antennas' have been established or selected 19 AI Factories as well as 13 "AI Factory Antennas" have been established or selected , to facilitate the participation of more countries. The Gigafactories are intended to complement this network, not replace it. While AI Factories form the broad, application-oriented base, Gigafactories are designed as highly scaled training and development environments for frontier models.
Source: fz-juelich.de
The EuroHPC AI Factories ecosystem, symbolized by a brain and interconnected supercomputers.
Financing
In February 2025, the Commission presented the InvestAI initiative, which is intended to mobilize a total of 200 billion euros in AI investments. . A new European fund of 20 billion euros is specifically earmarked for AI Gigafactories. These Gigafactories are to be organized as large public-private partnerships, enabling a kind of 'CERN for AI' to foster cooperative development with access beyond individual tech giants. In addition, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Commission announced a Memorandum of Understanding on December 4, 2025. The memorandum foresees advisory services and potential loans to incentivize private investment. The goal is described therein as 'up to five' major AI Gigafactories. A EuroHPC consultation document estimates the indicative investment requirement at around 3–5 billion euros per Gigafactory, with a public-private model envisioned and public funds potentially contributing to parts of CAPEX up to a ceiling.
Legal Framework
In July 2025, the Commission proposed to specifically amend the EuroHPC regulation, , as the existing mechanisms were not designed for the establishment and operation of Gigafactories. The Council confirmed this direction in December 2025 with its position and also anchored its own Quantum pillar within the EuroHPC framework. According to the Council's announcement, the text provides clear rules for financing and procurement and includes safeguards for start-ups and scale-ups. Furthermore, it will become possible to reallocate unused EU funds to Gigafactory projects and facilitate multi-site Gigafactories across multiple countries.
Source: user-added
The logo of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking symbolizes the European initiative for the development of high-performance computing centers and AI infrastructures.
Challenges
The strategic benefit of AI Gigafactories is clear: In-house training capacities increase the likelihood that European companies will develop models that better align with EU rules, industry needs, and public tasks. However, feasibility is not trivial. Industry observers point to bottlenecks with modern GPUs and the question of whether Europe can provide sufficient suitable locations and electricity capacity for such facilities. An article by Reuters from March 2025 discusses these challenges. Whether a permanently stronger European AI ecosystem emerges depends on three practical factors: reliable chip and supply chains, viable energy and location concepts, and access that reaches start-ups, research, and industry equally.