EU AI compute call: Luxembourg's 13.11.2026 cut-off

What does access cost?

For AI SMEs and start-ups, the industrial access modes are free of charge for innovation purposes. EuroHPC adds that "other industrial applications can benefit from pay-per-use commercial access", but the call pages publish no prices and do not explain how larger companies book that commercial access. That point remains unclear in the official text. The terms of reference also state that where an AI Factory's own terms of access differ, those of the hosting entity prevail.

Which supercomputers are available?

Each proposal can request resources on one system only. EuroHPC's current Large Scale table lists three: MareNostrum 5 ACC in Spain, Leonardo Booster in Italy and LUMI-G in Finland, each with a minimum request of 50.000 GPU hours. The same page says MareNostrum and LUMI-G are currently unavailable for new allocations because of exceptionally high demand. That leaves Leonardo Booster, with up to 946.660 GPU hours per month and up to 11.360.000 GPU hours per proposal. The worked example on the page quotes higher MareNostrum 5 figures than the table, so it is not clear which values are current.

MeluXina is not in the Large Scale table. On the Fast Lane and Playground pages, EuroHPC says MeluXina GPU is currently unavailable because of high demand. On the current lists, a Luxembourg company applying by Friday would therefore compute outside Luxembourg.

How are proposals evaluated?

Proposals are submitted in English through the EuroHPC peer review portal. They go through an eligibility check with an ethics self-assessment, a technical assessment by the requested AI Factory, and an expert evaluation on two criteria, innovation and impact. Each is scored from 0 to 5, with a threshold of 3 per criterion and 6 overall. The AI Factory's Industrial Innovation Group ranks the proposals and the EuroHPC executive director approves the list. EIC Accelerator challenge award holders pass without further evaluation and get priority. Only civilian projects that comply with the AI Act are eligible.

Data and models stay with the user, and SMEs and start-ups may exploit the results commercially. In return, applicants commit to publishing their results, except confidential parts, to acknowledging EuroHPC and the AI Factory, and to filing a final report within three months of the allocation's end. Rejected applicants can appeal within 15 days.

Where do the Luxembourg AI Factory and LuxProvide fit in?

The Luxembourg AI Factory presents itself as a one-stop shop for Luxembourg-based companies, with 12 partners and associated partners, a total investment of 126 Mio. EUR and four focus areas: cybersecurity, finance, green economy and space. Its core will be MeluXina-AI with 1.008 GPU accelerators. EuroHPC's Luxembourg page still gives "NA" as the date from which services are available. We describe the machine in detail in our article on MeluXina-AI and the Luxembourg AI Factory.

On the existing MeluXina, LuxProvide runs two national programmes. Initiate gives start-ups founded within the last five years free CPU or GPU node-hours and storage for up to six months, subject to hardware availability. Cashback 80 refunds up to 80 % of MeluXina usage costs for SMEs, after a state aid request to the Ministry of the Economy with help from Luxinnovation.

What does the deadline mean for Luxembourg companies?

The 13.11.2026 cut-off matters for Luxembourg start-ups and SMEs that already have a project needing more than 50.000 GPU hours and code ready to run at scale. EuroHPC recommends testing it first through Playground. Anyone not ready by Friday morning loses little, since the next cut-off follows on 30.11.2026. Smaller projects fit Fast Lane, Playground or LuxProvide's national programmes better. Because compliance with the AI Act is a condition of eligibility, our report on EU AI regulatory sandboxes may also be useful. For questions on applications, EuroHPC names aif.access@eurohpc-ju.europa.eu.