European aerospace giant Airbus has deployed new supercomputing infrastructure across two sites to help its engineers accelerate the development of future aircraft.

The supercomputing infrastructure has been supplied by French high-performance computing (HPC) provider Bull. The contract covers the installation of supercomputers and their respective data centres across two sites. The first was delivered to Airbus’ site in Toulouse, France, in 2025 and the more recent was delivered to its site in Hamburg, Germany. 

According to Bull, this latest delivery paves the way for the inauguration of a fully operational, multi-site supercomputing infrastructure. This upgrade to Airbus’ existing HPC infrastructure will provide the aerospace giant with a “more powerful and flexible solution”, Bull said. 

Rather than purchasing the systems outright, the infrastructure is being supplied and supported through a HPC-as-a-service model, with Airbus effectively leasing the systems under a multi-year contract. Under the contract, Bull is delivering a full turnkey solution covering computing systems, storage and data centres. 

The modular data centres feature a set of several pre-built and interchangeable modules that are pre-integrated at Bull’s factory in Angers, France, before being transported and assembled on-site.

Based on the Bull’s BullSequana XH3000 rack infrastructure, the modular system combines high-performance CPUs, GPUs and high-speed interconnect technologies to enable Airbus’ engineers to triple their current simulation capacity, enabling them to enhance existing products and design the next generation of aerospace solutions.

While traditional computing infrastructure may struggle with the enormous computational demands of performing such tasks as structural stress analysis, HPC environments are able to perform these critical tasks far more quickly. The HPC systems will also enable the engineers to more easily run high-fidelity digital twins as part of their processes. 

To enable Airbus to reduce its electricity bills, the system optimises power consumption through a direct liquid cooling system where heat generated by the data centre is reused to supply neighbouring buildings.

“This long-term strategic and technological collaboration highlights the critical role of HPC in driving innovation and breakthrough programmes across the aerospace and manufacturing industries,” said Martin Matzke, head of Central Europe and Northern Europe at Bull.

“Being recognised as an HPC strategic partner by a global, world-renowned industry player is an honour for our teams,” added Bruno Lecointe, head of HPC, AI and quantum computing at Bull.

Earlier last year, Airbus reaffirmed its ‘unwavering’ commitment to delivering its hydrogen-powered aircraft programme ZEROe. In October 2025, it then revealed that advanced additively manufactured heat exchangers will feature in the ZEROe hydrogen-electric propulsion systems.