Summary
- All existing draft and submitted tenders must be recreated under replacement submission links.
- Lot 1, covering medium-scale gigafactories, closes on 4 February 2027.
- Lot 2, covering large-scale gigafactories, retains its 3 December 2026 deadline; the original tender requirements are unchanged.
Consortia bidding to develop European AI gigafactories must recreate their tender submissions after a technical problem affected the procurement system used by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).
The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has confirmed that existing submissions, including completed tenders and saved drafts, will not be considered. Applicants must submit their proposals through replacement links, which are now available.
The problem affects both categories of AI gigafactory development. EuroHPC has not publicly identified the underlying technical fault, and its notice states that the published call documents remain unchanged.
Medium-scale gigafactories, classified as Lot 1, now have a submission deadline of 4 February 2027 at 17:00 Central European Time. The extension is intended to give participating member states more time to complete budget procedures and provide financial commitments.
Large-scale gigafactories, classified as Lot 2, retain their deadline of 3 December 2026 at 17:00 Central European Time.
The distinction is important because the technical submission problem applies to both lots, while the deadline extension applies only to medium-scale proposals. Existing tender documents therefore need to be recreated without assuming that all participants have received additional preparation time.
Procurement reset affects major infrastructure bids
EuroHPC’s procurement programme aims to select consortia capable of establishing and operating major AI computing facilities. Contracting public authorities would acquire access to computing capacity from the selected operators.
Applicants must assemble proposals covering technical infrastructure, investment, operational arrangements, and the services they intend to provide.
Large computing facilities require credible plans for electricity supply, cooling, networking, security, and ongoing operation. Their financing may also involve commitments from national governments and private participants.
Recreating a tender does not necessarily require a consortium to redesign its proposed facility, because the published technical requirements have not changed. It does, however, create an additional administrative requirement before the relevant deadline.
Completed submissions held in the previous system cannot be treated as valid applications. Bidders need to ensure that documents are uploaded through the replacement route and that the resulting tender is successfully submitted.
The revised process is therefore an immediate procurement issue rather than a change in the eligibility of particular computing technologies or data centre architectures.
EuroHPC’s programme is intended to increase access to advanced computing resources across Europe, including capacity for model training, inference, research, and industrial applications.
Power and facilities remain part of the assessment
The gigafactory requirements extend beyond the provision of AI processors. Proposed facilities must demonstrate sufficient supporting power infrastructure and incorporate measures addressing electricity efficiency, water efficiency, and circularity.
High-density computing installations generate substantial thermal loads, making the relationship between IT equipment, electrical distribution, and cooling design an important part of project feasibility.
The physical infrastructure also influences delivery schedules. A consortium may be able to secure computing hardware before a permanent electricity connection or completed data centre building is available.
Consequently, participation in the procurement process does not establish that a proposed facility has secured construction permission, completed financing, or reached commissioning.
The distinction between medium- and large-scale proposals reflects different procurement requirements and financing arrangements. EuroHPC’s current notice does not alter the published technical documents for either category.
The February extension for Lot 1 allows additional time for national budget commitments. Lot 2 participants must still complete their submissions by the earlier December deadline, notwithstanding the need to recreate existing tender files.
The replacement submission links are already available on the relevant funding and tenders portal. The next milestones are completed applications, evaluation, and the selection of consortia whose proposed infrastructure satisfies the programme’s requirements.
Only subsequent contract awards and project disclosures will establish which computing facilities proceed and the scale of investment and capacity committed to their delivery.
