The Dutch AI Factory’s AI supercomputer will be housed in Eurofiber’s data center on the Zernike Campus in Groningen. This marks an important next step in the realization of the Dutch AI Factory.
Sustainability played an important role in the selection of the supercomputer’s location. Virtually all of the data center’s waste heat is reused through WarmteStad. No surface water or drinking water is required for cooling.
State Secretary Willemijn Aerdts of the Digital Economy and Sovereignty paid a working visit to the Dutch AI Factory today. During her visit, she emphasized the importance of the AI Factory for the Netherlands’ position in knowledge and innovation:
“AI offers enormous opportunities for our healthcare, education, public safety, and the entire economy. But if we want to capitalize on those opportunities, we must ensure that companies and organizations have the knowledge, computing power, and space to develop new applications and continue to grow. That is why the national government, the region, and the European Union are investing in the AI factory in Groningen. In this way, we are leveraging Dutch expertise and innovative strength to drive economic growth and develop AI solutions that benefit our society as a whole.”
In addition to the AI supercomputer, which provides the computing power needed to develop and train advanced AI models and applications in the Netherlands, there is the AI Factory’s center of expertise located in the former Niemeyer tobacco factory in Groningen. There, companies, researchers, and public organizations receive support in leveraging that computing power.
Within the AI Factory consortium, AIC4NL is responsible for ensuring that the right startups, companies, research institutions, and government agencies make use of the AI Factory. Our board chair, Willem Jonker, emphasizes the AI Factory’s role as a driving force for creating value within the Dutch AI ecosystem. He also highlights the AI Factory’s contribution to greater autonomy in the field of AI and, consequently, to the Netherlands’ digital sovereignty.
The center of expertise has now begun providing support to its first partners, including the KWR Water Research Institute, which will be experimenting with the potential of AI computing power for the water sector through the European network of AI factories. The AI supercomputer will be installed at the Zernike Campus in 2027 and is expected to be fully operational by early 2028.
Image: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
