The Helmholtz Representation Model for Climate Science (HClimRep) project aims to create the first foundation model for climate science that simultaneously integrates atmospheric, oceanic, and sea‑ice data and observations. Trained on Europe’s inaugural exascale supercomputer, the model will contain several billion parameters, giving it the capacity to run rapid “what‑if” scenario experiments and to tackle the full spectrum of oceanic and atmospheric modelling tasks—from short‑term forecasts to multi‑decadal climate projections. The resulting European foundation model will be openly available, ensuring that Europe remains at the forefront of climate innovation and turning cutting‑edge machine‑learning and high-performance computing advances into practical, real‑world impact.