Port d'Informació Científica

What Port d'Informació Científica does

Port d'Informació Científica (PIC) is a publicly funded scientific computing and data infrastructure located on the campus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain. It was established in 2007 and operates as a joint collaboration between IFAE (Institut de Físiques d'Altes Energies, a consortium between the Generalitat de Catalunya and UAB) and CIEMAT (Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, under Spain's Ministry of Science). PIC supports scientific research groups that require strong computing resources for the storage and analysis of massive distributed datasets, operating approximately 10,000 high-throughput computing slots, 41 PB of tape storage and 15 PB of disk storage across 60 servers, and a 200 Gbps network connection upgraded in 2021. Its infrastructure is anchored by an oil immersion cooling system operational since ~2017 that delivers ~40% higher energy efficiency than conventional data center cooling.

PIC's core service portfolio centers on high-throughput batch computing (HTCondor, Spark, Dask, Hadoop/HDFS), large-scale storage (dCache, tape archive), and interactive analysis environments (JupyterHub), delivered through specialized platforms including CosmoHub for cosmological data distribution and the MAGIC Data Center for gamma-ray astronomy. It operates as a Tier-1 node in the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) for the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments, and is one of nine data centers for ESA's Euclid mission, implementing data processing pipelines and producing the Euclid Flagship 2 mock catalog covering 3.4 billion synthetic galaxies. The center was formally recognized as a Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) by Spain's Ministry of Science and Innovation in the 2021-2024 map and is part of the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES).

PIC's business model is that of a publicly funded research infrastructure rather than a commercial enterprise. Services are provided to approved scientific projects and collaborations typically at no direct cost to researchers, with funding flowing from national appropriations via the parent organizations (IFAE and CIEMAT), EU grants (e.g., ARCHIVER, Helix Nebula Science Cloud), and participation in international scientific programs (CERN, ESA). The customer base consists of named research collaborations across particle physics (LHC experiments, neutrino experiments), astronomy and cosmology (Euclid, MAGIC, DES, PAU, Gaia), materials science (In-CAEM at ALBA Synchrotron), and quantum computing (Quantum Spain). Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and the entity has no revenue figure reported as it operates on a grant and institutional appropriations model rather than commercial sales.

Name

Port d'Informació Científica

Legal name

Port d'Informació Científica

Website

https://pic.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Port d'Informació Científica (PIC) is a publicly funded scientific computing and data center in Catalonia, Spain, jointly operated by IFAE and CIEMAT. It provides high-throughput computing, petabyte-scale storage, and specialized data platforms to international research collaborations in particle physics, cosmology, materials science, and quantum computing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Research Computing Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Ground Segment Systems (Ground Stations, TT&C, Mission Ops) (IMABACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Science, Technology & Space Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAK), Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites (HDAEABAD)

Keywords

• Scientific computing services
• High-performance computing
• Research data storage
• Distributed data analysis
• Astronomical data platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès)

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Infrastructure Services: PIC provides computing and data storage services to scientific research collaborations. As a public research infrastructure recognized as an ICTS (Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure) and part of the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES), services are provided to approved research projects typically at no direct cost to researchers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Port d'Informació Científica (PIC) operates a scientific computing and data infrastructure providing high-throughput computing (approximately 10,000 cluster slots), petabyte-scale storage (41PB tape plus 15PB disk across 60 storage servers), and specialized data platforms such as CosmoHub for interactive exploration of cosmological datasets. It serves as a Tier-1 data center for the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid and one of nine data centers for ESA's Euclid space mission, supporting particle physics, astronomy, cosmology, and materials science research collaborations.

Product overview

Port d'Informació Científica (PIC) operates as a scientific data center providing integrated computing and storage infrastructure for large-scale scientific research. The core offering consists of high-throughput computing clusters (~10,000 slots), large-scale data storage (41PB tape + 15PB disk), and specialized platforms including CosmoHub for astronomical data distribution and MAGIC Data Center for gamma-ray astronomy. These services are supported by user interfaces (JupyterHub, HTCondor), distributed computing frameworks (Spark, Dask, HDFS), and dCache-based external storage systems. PIC serves as a Tier-1 center for LHC experiments and one of nine data centers for ESA's Euclid mission. The infrastructure is accessible via 200Gbps network connection and utilizes immersion cooling technology. Additional offerings include quantum computing access through Quantum Spain and In-CAEM data processing for materials science.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CosmoHub Web platform for interactive exploration and distribution of massive cosmological datasets, built on Apache Hadoop/Hive. Serves astronomical catalogs from international collaborations including Euclid, DES, PAUS, and Gaia, enabling visualization of 1D histograms, 2D heatmaps, and HEALPix maps with online exploration of billions of astronomical objects.
• High-Throughput Computing Cluster High-throughput batch processing cluster providing approximately 10,000 computing slots for scientific research workloads. Built on HTCondor and integrated with Spark, Dask, and JupyterHub user environments for distributed data analysis.
• Data Storage Infrastructure Petabyte-scale storage infrastructure including a tape system with approximately 4,500 slots and 41PB capacity, 15PB of disk storage across 60 storage servers, and dCache-based external data file system accessible via http/webdav and xrootd protocols.
• MAGIC Data Center Data center providing storage and computing resources for the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes (MAGIC) collaboration, supporting gamma-ray astronomy research with public data access and Virtual Observatory capabilities.
• LHC Computing Grid Tier-1 Services Tier-1 grid computing services for LHC particle physics experiments (ATLAS, CMS, LHCb), with 10Gbps DWDM dedicated circuit connection to CERN via Anella Científica and LHCOPN, supporting massive distributed data processing and analysis.
• Euclid Mission Data Processing PIC serves as one of nine Euclid mission data centers, implementing and running data processing pipelines and generating/distributing the Euclid Flagship mock catalog for ESA's space telescope mission studying dark matter and dark energy.
• Quantum Computing Services Access to quantum computing infrastructure through the Quantum Spain project, supporting quantum algorithm development and providing HPC resources for quantum technologies research communities.
• In-CAEM Data Processing

Quantifiable outcome

• Storage capacity of 41PB tape and 15PB disk, supporting data volumes expected to reach 100PB annually from LHC alone
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• ALBA SynchrotronmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2025PIC is a key partner in the In-CAEM consortium (In situ Correlative Facility for Advanced Energy Materials) at ALBA Synchrotron, providing advanced data processing for materials science experiments including green hydrogen, batteries, and solar panel research.
• Quantum SpainmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 December 2023PIC participates in Quantum Spain project through CIEMAT, supporting the team that will assist future users of the quantum computer and HPC systems for quantum technologies. Project aims to build quantum computing infrastructure in Spain.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 November 2023PIC serves as one of nine data centers for ESA's Euclid space mission. PIC implements and runs data processing pipelines and generates and distributes the Euclid Flagship mock catalog. The Euclid mission aims to create a 3D map of the Universe to study dark matter and dark energy.
• ARCHIVER ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 May 2019ARCHIVER (Archiving and Preservation for Research Environments) is an EU Horizon 2020 project improving archiving and digital preservation services for petabyte-scale scientific research. Consortium includes CERN, DESY, EMBL-EBI, and PIC.
• MAGIC CollaborationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2018PIC serves as the MAGIC Data Center for the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescope collaboration. Provides storage, computing resources, and public data access for the gamma-ray astronomy experiment.
• Helix Nebula Science Cloud (HNSciCloud)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 November 2016PIC participated in the €5.3 million HNSciCloud Pre-Commercial Procurement tender led by CERN, establishing a European hybrid cloud platform for high-performance, data-intensive scientific use cases.
• CERN (LHC Computing Grid)coreTechnology or IntegrationPIC operates as a Tier-1 data center in the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG), receiving data transfers from CERN (Tier0) and exchanging information with Tier2 centers for LHC experiments (ATLAS, CMS, LHCb). Connected via 10Gbps DWDM dedicated circuit through Anella Científica.
• IFAE (Institut de Física d'Altes Energies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPIC is a collaboration between IFAE and CIEMAT. IFAE is a consortium between the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. PIC is located on the UAB campus.
• CIEMAT (Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIEMAT is a public research organization under Spain's Ministry of Science. PIC is a collaboration between IFAE and CIEMAT, providing computing infrastructure for CIEMAT-led experiments including CTA, DUNE, and atmospheric modeling.
• Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES)coreTechnology or IntegrationPIC joined the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES) in 2020, connecting 14 supercomputing centers in Spain. RES is recognized as an ICTS by the Ministry of Science.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• IN2P3 / CC-IN2P3 (Centre de Calcul): CC-IN2P3 is the French Tier-1 WLCG center for LHC experiments, providing compute, storage, and grid services comparable to PIC's role for ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb.
• DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron): DESY operates a Tier-1 WLCG center in Germany and co-organized the dCache workshop with PIC. Both deliver large-scale scientific computing and storage for particle physics and photon science experiments.
• Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS): BSC is Spain's flagship supercomputing center and fellow RES member with PIC. Both deliver large-scale HPC and storage for Spanish and European research communities, sharing governance and user communities.
• STFC Scientific Computing / RAL Tier-1: STFC operates the UK Tier-1 WLCG center at RAL, providing large-scale compute and storage for LHC and astronomy — directly comparable in scope and customer base to PIC.
• KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) / GridKA: KIT's SCC operates GridKA, the German Tier-1 WLCG center, providing HPC, storage, and grid services for particle physics on the same scale and with the same mission profile as PIC.
• ALBA Synchrotron: ALBA is a Spanish synchrotron light source and active PIC partner through the In-CAEM facility. Both provide specialized scientific research infrastructure for materials and life science, with PIC delivering the data processing backbone.
• CERN (Tier-0 / WLCG Coordination): CERN is the Tier-0 anchor of the WLCG grid that PIC feeds as a Tier-1. Both operate massive scientific compute and storage infrastructure, and CERN runs HNSciCloud — a partnership PIC also joined.
• NIKHEF (National Institute for Subatomic Physics): NIKHEF operates the Dutch Tier-1 WLCG center, delivering comparable scientific computing, data storage, and grid services for LHC experiments and other large physics collaborations.
• INFN-CNAF (Italian National Centre for HPC): INFN-CNAF is Italy's Tier-1 WLCG center, offering similar Tier-1 grid computing, mass storage, and scientific data management for the same LHC experiments served by PIC.
• European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC): ESAC is ESA's astronomy data center and fellow Euclid data processing site. Both centers deliver mission data pipelines, archive access, and user support for ESA space science missions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pic_es
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/port-d'informaci-cient-fica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Port d'Informació Científica