“The RISC2 project has proven to be a team effort in which European and Latin American partners worked together to drive HPC collaboration forward. We have been able to create a lively and active community across the Atlantic to stimulate dialogue and boost cooperation that won’t die with RISC2’s formal end”, says Fabrizio Gagliardi, manager director of RISC2.

Since 2021, this knowledge-sharing network has organised webinars, summer schools, meetings with policymakers and participated in conferences and dissemination events on both sides of the Atlantic. The project also resulted in the HPC Observatory Repository — a collection of documents and training materials produced as part of the project – and the White Paper on HPC R&I Collaboration Opportunities, a document that reviews the key socio-economic and environmental factors and trends that influence HPC needs.

These were two of the issues highlighted by European Commission officials and experts during the final evaluation of the project, which could provide continuity to the work carried out by the consortium over the last three years, in line with the wishes of the partners and the advice of the evaluators. “Beyond RISC2, we should keep the momentum and leverage the importance of Latin America in the frame of the Green Deal actions: HPC stakeholders should encourage policymakers to build bilateral agreements and offer open calls focused on HPC collaboration“, reflects Fabrizio Gagliardi.

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Given the nature of the project, RISC2 could not fail to be represented through its partners and with a strong presence in the event’s program. Carlos J. Barrios, researcher from the Universidad Industrial de Santander and RISC2 partner was responsible for opening CARLA, with his address setting the tone for the conference, emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts and knowledge sharing in furthering the frontiers of HPC.

Fabrizio Gagliardi, the coordinator of RISC2, also took center stage with a special talk that introduced the audience to the mission and objectives of the RISC2 project. The presentation shed light on the pivotal role that RISC2 plays in advancing HPC research and development of the cooperation between the two continents in this field. Gagliardi participated in the EuroHPCLatam panel: Policy and Global Actions, which included representatives from Red Clara, CAF and the Ministry of CyT Colombia. This panel explored the policies and global actions required to propel HPC forward in Latin America, emphasizing collaboration between key stakeholders.

Another highlight of CARLA 2023 was the tribute to Mateo Valero, one of the promoters of RISC2. Valero’s dedication and contributions to the field were celebrated through an award with his name and one he was the first recepient, underscoring the lasting impact of his work on the entire HPC community.

This event was particularly important as it coincided with the end of the RISC2 project and the presentation of its results. Over the course of three years, the initiative has strengthened contacts and promoted the exchange of knowledge between researchers from Latin America and Europe through the organization of nine webinars, the support of several schools, workshops, and other training events in the field for young students and researchers. During this period, RISC2 partners also participated in several conferences and ceremonies with policymakers to raise awareness of the importance of continuing to support and prioritize this area of research in the future.

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In addition, Latin American countries have signed bilateral science and technology (S&T) agreements with the European Commission (EC). Within this framework, both parties participate in setting common principles, goals and conditions necessary to ensure a level playing field for researchers from both sides of the Atlantic. Brazil and Mexico recently signed new bilateral S&T agreements with the EC in November 2021 and March 2022, respectively. Co-funding schemes signed by the EC and their counterparts (Conacyt in Mexico; CNPq, FINEP and CONFAP in Brazil) support national partners participating in successful Horizon Europe projects.

These initiatives aim to encourage participation from Latin American entities in Horizon Europe calls, strengthening bilateral relations between the EU and Latin American countries, especially in research topics with a supranational scope (climate change, disease prevention, and renewable energies, for example).

A successful example of bilateral co-funding was the project ENERXICO (2019-2021), which received grants from Horizon 2020 and the Mexican Department of Energy (CONACYT-SENER Hidrocarburos).

ENERXICO applied HPC techniques to energy industry simulations of critical interest to Mexico: oil & gas industry in upstream, midstream and downstream problems, wind energy industry and combustion efficiency for transportation. The main objectives of the project were:

• Develop beyond state-of-the-art high-performance simulation tools for the energy industry
• Increase the oil & gas reserves using geophysical exploration for subsalt reservoirs
• Improve refining and transport efficiency of heavy oil
• Develop a robust wind energy sector to mitigate oil dependency
• Improve fuel generation using biofuels

The consortium, coordinated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the Mexican National Institute for Nuclear Research (ININ), included stakeholders from academia and the energy industry from the EU and Mexico.

Strengthening international cooperation goes beyond improving bilateral relations; S&T collaboration between regions can encourage increased multilateral research ecosystems within these regions, helping bridge the gaps in the Latin American scientific field due to the absence of a common regional funding source.

By Barcelona Supercomputing Center

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