Interview with Daniel Alonso Román
Connecting data, AI and HPC communities for Europe’s post-Exascale future
The post-Exascale era will not be shaped by computing power alone. It will depend on Europe’s ability to connect data, AI, HPC, quantum technologies, communications, governance and skills into a more coherent ecosystem.
Daniel Alonso Román, WP2 SPE Leader and Senior Technical Lead Big Data and AI ecosystems at the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) explains in this interview that this is one of the central ambitions of the Strategy for Post-Exascale (SPE) project.
What are the main challenges BDVA sees around data and AI?
For me, the starting point is very clear: AI cannot be addressed without data. Data are key to really produce a valuable and powerful European AI. The challenge is not just about having access to large volumes of data, but about having access to high-quality data, including data from the private sector.
This is exactly why at BDVA we work so much on European data spaces. The idea is to break data silos, connect data sources across sectors, domains and borders, and make it easier to link data providers with data users, especially in AI-driven use cases.
In that sense, data, AI and HPC form three connected vertices. AI needs data, data-intensive AI needs computing resources, and HPC infrastructures are increasingly expected to support AI workflows.
« AI cannot be addressed without data. »
Has this convergence between HPC, data and AI always been recognised?
Not really. When BDVA joined the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking in 2019, this connection was still not so obvious. From the beginning, we were advocating for stronger links between HPC, data and AI.
Today, with the rise of large AI models, it has become clear that you cannot separate these elements anymore. You need data, you need computing power, and you need infrastructures that can support both traditional HPC and AI workloads.
Why is a project like SPE needed in this context?
SPE is addressing a broader question: how can Europe connect communities that are still often working separately? No technology can evolve in isolation. HPC, data, AI, quantum and communication technologies all need to be connected if Europe wants to prepare for the post-Exascale era and remain competitive globally.
This is where SPE plays an important role. BDVA does not join European projects by default. We mainly participate in Coordination and Support Actions when they bring clear value to our members and to the wider ecosystem. SPE is strategic because it is close to policy discussions and because it helps connect technical communities and bring their input into future priorities.
How will SPE actually address this challenge of connecting communities?
We are taking an incremental approach, gradually engaging the right communities and experts as needed for the roadmap and policy work. This is done on three levels: first, by mapping relevant European actors across research, industry, policy, and related initiatives; second, by defining the SPE ecosystem and selecting stakeholders who can actively contribute to the roadmap process; and third, by building a Community of Practice that brings in experts through workshops, surveys, and consultations to support the development of the roadmap and policy papers.
SPE is not meant to duplicate existing discussions. If you look at specific domains, there are already strong organisations: QuIC for quantum, ETP4HPC for HPC, BDVA for data. The added value of SPE is to focus on cross-cutting topics. For example: AI and data, AI and HPC, quantum and HPC, hybrid computing, communications and HPC. These are exactly the kinds of intersections that define the post-Exascale landscape.
« SPE is not meant to duplicate existing discussions. »
What impact do you expect SPE to have for Europe?
I see three main impacts. First, SPE should help Europe set clearer post-Exascale priorities by linking HPC, AI, quantum and related fields, and feeding roadmaps into future EU programmes. Second, it should better connect the ecosystem by moving from broad mapping to targeted stakeholders and a Community of Practice. Third, it should identify disruptive but feasible ideas—ambitious enough to matter, but realistic enough to deliver impact in the mid-term.
For experts, the value is also clear: they can contribute to a European roadmap, exchange with peers from other domains, gain visibility, and potentially influence future work programmes.
In the end, SPE will be successful if it manages to turn fragmented expertise into shared priorities. The post-Exascale era will require Europe not just to advance in HPC, AI, data or quantum separately, but to connect them, align them, and decide where they should converge.
Fill in the form
Join Us to Help Shape the Future of Computing
SPE project
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement N°101296624. This website reflects only the author's view and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.