Construction has officially started on the site that will house the UK’s most powerful UK supercomputer, marking a significant step forward in the country’s research and innovation ambitions.
Backed by up to £750m in UK Government funding, the next national supercomputer will be owned by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and hosted at the University of Edinburgh.
The new UK supercomputer will provide researchers with dramatically increased computing power, enabling faster and more detailed simulations across fields such as aerospace engineering, climate science, and cancer drug discovery.
The system is expected to be around 50 times more powerful than the UK’s current national supercomputer, ARCHER2, transforming the scale and speed of scientific research.
Construction of the purpose-built facility is now underway, with experts describing the project as a milestone for UK science.
Once operational, the machine is expected to strengthen the country’s global position in high-performance computing while supporting economic growth through research, industrial innovation and technological development.
Garth Wells, Deputy Executive Chair, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council at UKRI, explained: “The commencement of construction in Edinburgh marks a pivotal moment for the UK’s scientific infrastructure.
“We are providing the UK’s brightest minds with the ‘industrial-scale’ tools required to solve society’s most complex challenges, from decoding the next generation of life-saving medicines to engineering a net-zero future.
“This £750m investment isn’t just about speed; it’s about economic growth, and ensuring the UK remains the premier destination for global innovation.”
Next-generation computing power
The new national system will feature thousands of the latest processors and is expected to perform at least a billion-billion calculations every second.
That represents a substantial leap from the performance of ARCHER2, allowing scientists to complete calculations in hours that currently take days, while tackling research challenges that were previously beyond reach.
This increase in computing capability will support work across a wide range of disciplines. Researchers will be able to improve aircraft design, accelerate the development of new cancer treatments, model extreme weather events, and run simulations that would be impractical, prohibitively expensive, or impossible to perform in the real world.
Supercomputing also plays a critical role in forecasting flood risks, analysing changing ocean temperatures, and modelling earthquakes, providing insights that inform public policy, infrastructure planning, and environmental resilience.
Building on ARCHER2’s success
The new UK supercomputer builds on the achievements of ARCHER2, which has already supported nationally important research.
The existing system contributed to Covid-19 drug discovery, helped Rolls-Royce improve aircraft engine efficiency and sustainability, and enabled engineers to optimise wind farm performance.
According to an independent report, ARCHER2 generated £8 in economic benefit for every £1 invested, delivering more than £4.2bn in value to the UK economy.
The University of Edinburgh was selected to host the new facility in recognition of EPCC’s more than three decades of expertise in high-performance computing.
The University has also been a centre for artificial intelligence research in Europe for over 60 years, with EPCC recently designated as the UK’s first National Supercomputing Centre.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, added: “It is an honour for the University to be trusted to host this essential piece of UK infrastructure, and a testament to the hard work of everyone involved to help make this happen.
“It is clear that this investment will strengthen UK science, and with our track record in supercomputing, Edinburgh is perfectly placed to host this.”
Sustainability built into the supercomputer project
Environmental performance has been integrated into the design of the new facility. Scotland’s cooler climate will help reduce the energy required for cooling, supported by advanced cooling technologies that improve efficiency.
The surplus heat generated by the UK supercomputer will be used to warm University buildings, while researchers will also investigate whether excess heat could eventually help warm nearby homes by heating mine water in disused mines.
The project has also sought to minimise its environmental footprint during construction. Site demolition has been limited, while sustainability initiatives with contractor Robertson Construction Central East include tree planting, protecting ancient trees and supporting local wildlife conservation projects.
