ICHEC
ICHEC is Ireland's national supercomputing centre, hosted by the University of Galway, operating national HPC infrastructure for academic, public-sector, industry, and SME users across climate modeling, quantum computing, and Earth observation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersDublin, Ireland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ICHEC does
ICHEC (Irish Centre for High-End Computing) is Ireland's national supercomputing centre, founded in 2005/2006 and hosted by the University of Galway with a secondary office in Dublin. It operates Ireland's National HPC Service, providing shared supercomputing access to academic researchers through a structured application and allocation process, alongside commercial services for industry partners and dedicated SME support via the EuroSME Accelerator. ICHEC's core technology stack comprises national supercomputer systems (Kay, with CASPIr in procurement), GPU and FPGA acceleration, a Big Data Sandbox (Hadoop), and — as of 2020 — an Atos Quantum Learning Machine supporting its Quantum Programming Initiative (QNLP, QPFAS, quantum circuit simulation).
The centre's primary revenue streams are institutional rather than commercial: recurring core funding from Irish government departments (Department of Education & Skills, Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation), competitive research grants from Science Foundation Ireland, the Higher Education Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the European Commission (FP7, Horizon 2020, EuroHPC JU), supplemented by industry engagement revenue (~€3M cumulative) via Enterprise Ireland-supported collaborative R&D with commercial clients such as Tullow Oil, RCSI, and Intel. ICHEC's domain expertise is concentrated in climate and environmental modeling (EC-Earth, CMIP6 contributions, ~1.5 PB of standardized climate data), Earth observation analytics (ESA Sentinel data, ~20 TB/day), quantum programming, and code optimization for many-core architectures, positioning it as a public-sector R&D platform whose customers are predominantly academic, governmental, and increasingly SME — not a commercial software vendor.
ICHEC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ICHEC
- Legal name
- Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC)
- Website
- https://ichec.ie
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ICHEC is Ireland's national supercomputing centre, hosted by the University of Galway, operating national HPC infrastructure for academic, public-sector, industry, and SME users across climate modeling, quantum computing, and Earth observation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ICHEC industry classification
Industry- Product category
- High-Performance Computing Services
- NAICS
- Electronic Computer Manufacturing (334111), Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Electronic Computers (3571), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- HPC Supercomputers & Turnkey Systems (HDACAOAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- HPC Clusters & Scale-Out Compute (x86/ARM) (HDACAOAB), Research Computing & High-Performance Computing (HPC) User Support (EDALAMAK), Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)
Keywords
Where ICHEC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dublin
- HQ country
- Ireland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
ICHEC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Government Base Funding: Core operational funding from Irish government departments including Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation and Department of Education & Skills (€12.8M jointly for 2013-2020). Competitive research funding from Science Foundation Ireland (€4.9M over 2005-2012, €9.2M in equipment awards), EPA, HEA.
- European Commission Funding: Funding from FP7 (€2.8M) and Horizon 2020 (€2.3M) programmes for research projects and infrastructure development including PRACE, EuroCC, SESAME Net collaborations.
- Industry Engagement Programme: Direct industry cash contributions and Enterprise Ireland innovation programme funding (approximately €3M raised) through collaborative R&D projects with commercial partners.
- EuroHPC JU Collaboration: EuroHPC Joint Undertaking funding for national supercomputer procurement including €25M budget for CASPIr supercomputer funded jointly by Irish government and EuroHPC JU.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One time | Free training courses for industry and SMEs |
| Subscription | Annual | Academic HPC access (publicly funded) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels10 records
ICHEC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ICHEC operates Ireland's national supercomputing centre, providing access to high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, including national supercomputers, for academic researchers, public sector bodies, SMEs, and commercial industry. The centre delivers computational services spanning climate modelling, earth observation analytics, quantum programming, big data processing, and applied HPC consultancy, alongside a comprehensive training and education programme.
Product overview
ICHEC is Ireland's National Supercomputing Centre providing high-performance computing infrastructure and services. The organisation operates a unified HPC platform consisting of the National HPC Service (core supercomputing infrastructure for academic, industry, and public sector), complemented by the EuroCC Ireland Competence Centre offering the EuroSME Accelerator for SMEs, and a Training and Education Programme. ICHEC's expertise spans climate and environmental science (using EC-Earth for climate projections), quantum computing (through the Quantum Programming Initiative covering QNLP and circuit simulation), commercial HPC services for industry, and Earth observation analytics. The centre is currently procuring the €25 million CASPIr supercomputer to replace the decommissioned Kay system. Additional offerings include the Big Data Sandbox (Hadoop cluster), Intel Parallel Computing Centre collaboration, and specialised applications like DL_POLY_4 and HARMONIE weather forecasting.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- National HPC Service Ireland's national high-performance computing service providing supercomputing infrastructure access to Irish academic researchers, public sector bodies, and industry through a structured application and allocation process. Operates the national supercomputer systems (Kay, previously Fionn, Hamilton, Stokes, Walton, etc.) for scientific computation and large-scale research workloads.
- EuroCC Ireland Competence Centre National competence centre for HPC, AI, and quantum computing under the European EuroCC project, coordinating SME support, academic flagship programmes, and skills development across Ireland.
- EuroSME Accelerator €1 million small business accelerator programme providing free HPC support, skills development, and training for Irish SMEs to adopt high-performance computing technologies.
- Climate and Environmental Science Services Advanced climate modelling using the EC-Earth Earth System Model for global and regional climate projections; contributes to CMIP6 and IPCC reports and provides high-resolution downscaled climate projections for Ireland under various SSP scenarios.
- Quantum Programming Initiative (QPI) Ireland's national quantum computing programme covering quantum programming, Quantum Natural Language Processing (QNLP), Quantum PFAS Chemicals Remediation (QPFAS), quantum circuit simulation, and training in quantum programming.
- Training and Education Programme Comprehensive HPC training programme including graduate modules, workshops, and courses in scientific programming concepts, Linux, HPC, AI, and deep learning for academia, public sector, and SMEs; ICHEC serves as a PRACE Training Centre since 2017.
- Commercial HPC Services Industry-facing HPC services including computational chemistry, seismic imaging, financial services analytics, life sciences support, and big data analytics for commercial clients.
- Big Data Sandbox UNECE Hadoop cluster environment for big data analytics and experimentation, enabling scalable data processing and analytics capabilities for ICHEC users.
- Earth Observation Services Satellite data analysis using ESA Sentinel archives for environmental monitoring, agricultural applications, and climate research; supports the SPÉir online platform for national user access.
Quantifiable outcome
- Climate projections inform national adaptation policies
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ICHEC
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
ICHEC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability9 records
Feature5 records
ICHEC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.
- EuroHPC JUcoreEuropean High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking collaborating on CASPIr supercomputer procurement with €25M budget for Ireland's new data-centric HPC platform
- Equal1strategicQuantum computing partnership to enhance quantum innovation in Ireland and Europe, announced June 2024
- CeADARstrategicCollaboration with Ireland's Centre for Applied AI to standardize Earth Observation training datasets for AI applications (AIREO project)
- University of GalwaycoreHost institution for ICHEC providing primary headquarters location and academic integration for Ireland's national supercomputing centre
- Tyndall National InstitutestrategicCollaboration on quantum computing and HPC research, including new academic associate appointment to foster further collaboration
- PRACEcorePartnership for Advanced Computing in Europe providing access to European HPC infrastructure and participation in European HPC initiatives
- EuroCCcoreEuropean HPC Competence Centre coordinating SME support, academic flagship programme, and skills development across Europe
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreFunding and collaboration for climate modeling research, CMIP6 contributions, and national climate projection datasets
- Met ÉireanncoreCollaboration on weather forecasting, climate modeling, and TRANSLATE project for standardized climate data
- Marine InstitutestrategicFunding partner for climate and ocean modeling research contributing to national climate projections
- European Space Agency (ESA)strategicFunding Earth Observation AI/ML standardization project (AIREO) and Sentinel data archive access through SPÉir platform
- IntelstrategicIntel Parallel Computing Centre collaboration for Xeon Phi optimization, quantum learning machine delivery, and many-core research
- Tullow Oil plcminorIndustry collaboration on seismic imaging code optimization and preparation of RTM code for Intel Xeon Phi processors
- SESAME NetcoreHorizon 2020 project establishing pan-European network of HPC competency centres to help SMEs understand benefits of HPC
- EC-Earth ConsortiumcoreEuropean climate modeling consortium for global climate simulations contributing to CMIP6 and IPCC assessments
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)strategicCollaboration on novel diagnostics technology in cardiovascular disease using HPC and data analysis
- SkytekminorIndustry partnership in space and satellite technology applications
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights6 records
ICHEC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- EPCC (Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre): UK's national supercomputing centre at University of Edinburgh, where ICHEC's Director JC Desplat previously worked for 10 years. Directly comparable as a national HPC centre serving academic and industry users with similar supercomputing, training, and HPC user support mandate.
- CSC (IT Center for Science, Finland): Finnish national HPC centre operating supercomputing infrastructure for Finnish academia, research, and industry. Highly comparable in mandate, structure, and service portfolio including national supercomputer access, training, and SME support programmes.
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS): Spanish national supercomputing centre operating MareNostrum and hosting one of the EuroHPC pre-exascale systems. Comparable as a peer national HPC centre within the EuroHPC ecosystem with similar mandate in scientific computing, training, and industry engagement.
- CINECA: Italian non-profit consortium operating national HPC infrastructure including Leonardo, a EuroHPC pre-exascale system. Directly comparable as a national HPC centre serving academic and industry research users in a country of similar economic profile.
- Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC): German national supercomputing centre operating JUWELS and hosting the upcoming JUPITER exascale system as part of EuroHPC. Comparable as a major European national HPC centre with deep involvement in climate modeling, quantum computing, and PRACE/EuroHPC initiatives.
- SURF (Netherlands): Dutch collaborative organization for ICT in education and research, operating national supercomputing infrastructure including the Snellius system. Comparable as a national HPC service provider with academic, SME, and industry engagement programmes in the same EuroHPC ecosystem.
- National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore: Singapore's national HPC centre operating ASPIRE systems for academic and industry research. Comparable as a government-funded national HPC service provider with similar mandate in supercomputing access, training, and industry collaboration programmes.
Others
- PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe): Pan-European HPC infrastructure partnership in which ICHEC participates as an Irish national representative. Not a direct competitor but a strategic enabler providing ICHEC with access to larger European supercomputers and collaborative research opportunities.
- Atos: European IT services company that delivered the Quantum Learning Machine to ICHEC and provides HPC-related infrastructure and quantum computing platforms. Functions as a technology supplier and enabler rather than direct competitor, with comparable work in HPC and quantum systems.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ICHEC social profiles
Digital presenceICHEC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ICHEC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ICHEC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ICHEC M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ICHEC
What does ICHEC do?
ICHEC operates Ireland's national supercomputing centre, providing access to high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, including national supercomputers, for academic researchers, public sector bodies, SMEs, and commercial industry. The centre delivers computational services spanning climate modelling, earth observation analytics, quantum programming, big data processing, and applied HPC consultancy, alongside a comprehensive training and education programme.
Is ICHEC a public or private company?
ICHEC is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was ICHEC founded?
ICHEC was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ICHEC based?
ICHEC is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, in the Europe region.
How does ICHEC make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Government Base Funding is the primary driver. The others are european Commission Funding, industry Engagement Programme and euroHPC JU Collaboration.
Who are ICHEC's main competitors?
Regional players on record are EPCC (Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre), CSC (IT Center for Science, Finland), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), CINECA, Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), SURF (Netherlands) and National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore. Others are PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe) and Atos.
Does ICHEC have an API?
No public API is recorded for ICHEC.
What industry is ICHEC in?
ICHEC's product category is High-Performance Computing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACAOAA, HPC Supercomputers & Turnkey Systems, with a secondary code of HDACAOAB, HPC Clusters & Scale-Out Compute (x86/ARM). Its NAICS code is 334111 and its SIC code is 3571.