Greece inaugurated its new National Supercomputer, DAEDALUS, on Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The Prime Minister and the Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence, Dimitris Papastergiou, symbolically activated the country’s most powerful computing system to date, marking a significant milestone for scientific research, technological innovation, and the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in Greece.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted Greece’s progress in technology, particularly in Artificial Intelligence, and thanked everyone involved in bringing the project to fruition.

“Greece’s journey in technology, from lagging behind to becoming a pioneer, particularly in the field of Artificial Intelligence, has indeed been and continues to be exceptionally exciting.

I would like to thank everyone who worked to make this project a reality. I can see the deep emotion in the eyes of many people here, because I know how hard you have worked to bring us to this point, where our country now has one of the most powerful supercomputers. At the same time, we have installed it in a building of great historical and cultural significance.

Here, we are building a bridge from the Second Industrial Revolution, from the early 20th century, when electricity was generated at this site, to the present day, with the installation of a supercomputer offering exceptional capabilities.

Now we move to the next step: making this tremendous computing power available to Greek researchers, the Greek business community, startups, and larger enterprises alike.”

Minister of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence Dimitris Papastergiou emphasized the strategic importance of DAEDALUS, describing it as a major step towards strengthening Greece’s position in the international AI and high-performance computing landscape.

“This site has something truly special about it. It takes us on a journey from the Second to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Where electricity was once generated, today we transform energy, data, and human talent into Artificial Intelligence.

With DAEDALUS, Greece becomes the 14th country worldwide to acquire this kind of infrastructure. This is a tremendous step forward.

DAEDALUS is being brought into operation today and, once the necessary tests and technical adjustments have been completed, it will begin providing services in December.

Our goal is for Greece to develop its own Artificial Intelligence, have its own infrastructure, and make use of its data here, in Greece and in Europe. We want to equip universities, researchers, and startups with the tools they need to create, innovate, and retain talent in our country.

With DAEDALUS, the new supercomputer coming to Kozani, and the capabilities of AI Factories, we are building the infrastructure that can make Greece a leading force in the wider region.

I would like to thank everyone who worked to make this outstanding project a reality. Today, from historic Lavrion, we are taking a major step towards the future.”

What Is DAEDALUS?

DAEDALUS is one of Europe’s most powerful computing infrastructures, designed to perform vast numbers of complex calculations at extraordinary speeds. It will provide Greece’s scientific and research communities with advanced computing capabilities that have often required access to specialized facilities abroad.

With a computing performance of 85.69 petaflops, DAEDALUS ranks among the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Its architecture comprises thousands of computing cores working in parallel, enabling it to tackle complex problems far more quickly than conventional computing systems.

Developed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), the supercomputer is based on NVIDIA’s GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip architecture, which is designed for high-performance computing and AI model training. It also incorporates direct liquid cooling technology, helping improve energy efficiency and maintain stable operating conditions.

DAEDALUS is expected to support a broad range of applications, including Artificial Intelligence, medical and biomedical research, climate modelling, civil protection, defence, and large-scale data processing.

Its computing resources will be made available to universities, research centers, startups, businesses, and public-sector organizations, supporting scientific discovery, technological development, and the creation of innovative products and services.

By providing access to advanced computing infrastructure within Greece, DAEDALUS is also expected to strengthen collaboration between academia, industry, and the public sector, while creating new opportunities for Greek researchers and entrepreneurs.

A supercomputer is not a single computer but a sophisticated system comprising thousands of interconnected processors and computing units that operate simultaneously.

When given a complex problem, the system divides it into smaller tasks and processes them in parallel. This approach enables it to perform calculations and simulations that could take conventional computers weeks or even months in a matter of minutes or hours, depending on the workload.

By combining immense computing power with advanced energy-efficient technologies, DAEDALUS will provide Greece with an important tool for addressing complex scientific and technological challenges and advancing the country’s ambitions in Artificial Intelligence and innovation.

Sources: mindigital.gr, ertnews.gr

Photo Credits: MALIAKOS_NIKOS