Memory, not processors, remains Europe's supercomputing weakness, Bull CEO says

By Leo Marchandon

Oct ‌2 (Reuters) - Europe ​is ​increasingly able to source the components used in its supercomputers locally, but ‌memory remains the biggest gap in the ⁠supply chain, the head of French supercomputer maker Bull ‌said on Friday.

Bull can ‌now source around 70% of the components in the machines it builds in Europe - ​including boards, interconnects, cooling systems and increasingly processors - up from 20%-30% five years ago, ⁠leaving memory as the last major component without a European ​supplier, Chief Executive Emmanuel Le Roux said.

• He cited progress on European processors — ​SiPearl, in which Bull holds ‌a stake, Vsora and Openchip.

• "The problem is memory," he told Reuters at ⁠the company's Angers factory. "We don't see anything coming."

• Processors account for 10-20% of a supercomputer's value, ⁠he said.

• Memory prices have risen sharply and are ​now one of the industry's biggest concerns, Le Roux said. European memory initiatives exist but would take a ‌long time to build.

• Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron produce over 90% ‌of memory worldwide.

• Memory chips hold the ⁠data a machine ‌is actively working ​on; supercomputers need them in vast quantities.

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon; Editing by Matt ‌Scuffham)

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