Pangea: version 4 of the TotalEnergies supercomputer

Modeling, simulating, decision-making... From the very first supercomputer, also called HPC, for High-Performance Computer, to the latest version, we take a look back at the three generations of Pangea supercomputers with Jean-Baptiste Richard, Manager of the Scientific Computing department at TotalEnergies.

 

"To put it simply, a supercomputer is an assembly of several computers working as a whole to run highly complex computations. They are connected by an ultra-fast network and can process huge amounts of data. These systems are designed to resolve scientific or technical problems that require exceptional computing power using numerical simulation algorithms," explains Jean-Baptiste Richard. In Pau, a third of his team of 25 engineers manages the machines, and two-thirds work on developing and optimizing the codes.

In 2013, TotalEnergies welcomed the first industrial supercomputer, Pangea. Its arrival marked the entrance of the Company’s IT systems into the realm of the petaflops (number of floating point operations per second, a unit measuring the computing speed of an IT system). At the time, Pangea I could run 10^15 operations per second, a remarkable performance thanks to its advanced processors and effective data management.

Over the years, the supercomputer family gradually got larger and computing power grew along with it. Pangea II came into service in 2016 and rose to the 11th place of the TOP500, which ranks the most powerful supercomputers in the world every six months. In 2019, Pangea III displayed a theoretical power of 31.7 petaflops, the equivalent of 170,000 laptops. "To give you an idea, in the machine room at the CSTJF in Pau, Pangea III comprises 32 computing racks, i.e. 32 huge cabinets filled with electronic components and servers, completed by 15 storage racks. The whole set-up is kept at a constant temperature by a hydraulic cooling system."

 

Pangea 4: the hybrid generation

Thanks to Pangea III, its computing power and algorithms, which transform field data into exploitable images, TotalEnergies was able to push back the limits of exploration and improve the quality of seismic images in complex geological areas.

Although Pangea III is still in service, the family welcomed two new supercomputers in early 2024 to replace Pangea II. Combining computing power and energy efficiency, Pangea 4 and Pangea @ Cloud offer a hybrid solution comprising a physical machine on site (Pangea 4) and computing capacities in the cloud (Pangea @ Cloud). "Why the cloud? Because it enables us to remain at the cutting edge of supercomputing technology by giving us regular access to the latest generations of processors. It also means the machine we have on site is much more economical, as Pangea 4 consumes 87% less energy than Pangea II. We’re thereby contributing to reducing our datacenter’s carbon footprint." Its highly energy-efficient processors provide a computing power of 5.5 Gflops per Watt consumed and enable algorithms to run twice as fast. In terms of volume, the number of racks has been reduced to seven.

Thanks to Pangea, TotalEnergies has developed a real expertise in the field of high-performance computing, competencies that are of great interest for both for the oil & gas sector and new energies. "The new system was designed to meet TotalEnergies’ needs over the period 2024-2028, for geoscience computations of course, but also for CO₂ simulation as part of capture and geological storage projects, methane reduction calculations, wind flow simulations for the design of wind farms, and simulations on biofuels and polymers. In fact, all the themes TotalEnergies’ R&D teams are currently working on."

Inside the multi-energy Company, Pangea is the cornerstone of a specialty sector on scientific and high-performance computing, which gives us access to cutting-edge competencies in forward-looking areas such as scientific development, applied mathematics, and high-performance computing infrastructures. "Pangea has also made a name for itself outside the Company. It’s a superstar that receives a lot of visitors, from international delegations to students who come and take a deep dive into the world of data and numerical simulation thanks to an immersive scenography. Expect to be wowed every time!" concludes Jean-Baptiste Richard.