Now we have significantly expanded the capacity of Norway’s most powerful supercomputer, Olivia, to meet the rapidly increasing demand for GPU-compute in artificial intelligence, research, and general-purpose GPU (GPGPU) applications.
When Olivia launched in 2025, the system featured 64,512 AMD CPU cores and 304 NVIDIA GH200 superchips. To address the surging demand for high-performance computing, we have now added 144 additional GPUs, bringing the total to 448 NVIDIA Grace Hopper chips.
These chips are the backbone of our AI infrastructure. Each Grace Hopper chip pairs a powerful GPU with 72 ARM CPU cores. This architecture not only provides massive parallel processing power but also ensures high memory bandwidth, facilitated by direct NVLink chip-to-chip technology.
Hildegunn Vada, CEO of Sigma2, says:
- The demand for advanced computing power has skyrocketed. With Olivia, Norwegian researchers have the tools required to develop next-generation language models. As we now open the doors to the public sector and industry through the national AI Factory, this expansion is essential to ensure that Norway stays at the forefront of technological development.
A Strategic Asset for Language Technology
The increased capacity is particularly critical for the development of open, transparent language models for Norwegian and Sami. This serves as a vital strategic alternative to proprietary models from international tech giants.
Svein Arne Brygfjeld, Senior Advisor at the National Library of Norway, emphasises the importance of this infrastructure:
-The expanded capacity is crucial for training open models that ensure Norwegian language and culture are preserved in the age of AI. This is critical infrastructure for new solutions in public administration and the private sector. The pace of development is rapid, and we require massive computational resources to deliver high-quality results at scale.
Future-Ready and Sustainable Infrastructure
Olivia’s architecture, delivered by Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), was designed from the outset to be scalable. As Stein Inge Knarbakk, Senior Project Manager at Sigma2, explains:
- We did not just invest in a static supercomputer; we invested in a platform for growth. Our strategy has always been to choose a solution that expands in line with user needs. Our ability to scale up this quickly demonstrates that we chose the right technology to keep pace with the lightning-fast development in the field.
Furthermore, the expansion continues to leverage Olivia’s sustainable operational model:
- Green Energy: Powered by 100% renewable energy.
- Sustainable Cooling: Utilises water from the local fjord for energy-efficient cooling.
- Performance: Housed in a former olivine mine 60 meters underground, the system maintains its position as one of the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers (ranked #22 on the Green500 list at launch).
