Our mission
The Barcelona Zettascala Lab’s mission is to position Europe as a global leader in high-performance computing (HPC). Innovating the design and manufacture of advanced chips, Europe will drive the technological sustainability and foster a robust ecosystem that includes both hardware and software.
We collaborate with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) and count with the support of the NextGenerationEU program, aligned with the strategic objectives of the European Union. Our commitment are to uncover technological solutions that enable significant advances in science, industry and society guaranteeing a competitive and sustainable digital future for all European citizens.
General Description
The BSC-CNS will lead the Barcelona Zettascale Laboratory (BZL) project with the aim of enhancing the capacity of Europe in the design of high-performance computing chips. This critical step is directed towards logging European technological stability. Our new laboratory focuses on creating prototypes based on RISC-V technology, with the aim to develop advanced processor prototypes that will eventually be integrated into the future of European supercomputers.
The initiative will reduce Europe’s dependence on third-party hardware for supercomputers and other industrial applications such as autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI). With this objective, the BSC-CNS supports the development of open hardware and collaborates with national and European partners from projects such as the European Processor Initiative (EPI).
Open source architecture
The Barcelona Zettascale Laboratory supports the RISC-V community committed to contributing to the RISC-V ecosystem through innovations, collaborations and exchange of experiences. We promote the advancement of RISC-V technology through the advancedment of prototypes and the development of compatible software, that will be crucial for the future European supercomputers.
Our laboratory works in close collaboration with national and international partners to ensure that our projects not only meet the highest standards of technological innovation, but also promote sustainability and energy efficiency. We are convinced that collaboration and the exchange of knowledge are essential to strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty.
Latest News
BZL concludes with strong validation of results and clear path for future development
On 16 June 2026, the BZL project has held its final event titled “Towards Zettascale: advances at the Barcelona Zettascale Lab” in Madrid bringing together industrial and public stakeholders to present the major outcomes and reflect on the conclusions drawn from its...
Cinco Ranch TC2: From Silicon to the Laboratory
Last week, computer architecture experts received the Cinco Ranch Test Chip 2 (TC2) at the BSC offices, marking a new milestone in the development roadmap for processors based on the open RISC-V architecture. After completing its submission for fabrication in January...
BZL acerca RISC-V con un tutorial práctico en las Jornadas SARTECO
On Tuesday, June 16, as part of the SARTECO Conference, experts from the Barcelona Zettascale Lab (BZL) organized the tutorial “How to gain experience in RISC-V with the BZL project.” This activity helped bring the RISC-V ecosystem closer to attendees, while also...