Scotland will be ‘at the forefront’ of the UK’s tech revolution with an announcement that the £750 million national supercomputer will be hosted in Edinburgh.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the investment last night as part of the UK Government’s spending review, which comes after a period of uncertainty for the University of Edinburgh’s advanced computing facility.
The new supercomputer, which will be hosted at the university’s East Bush facility, will give scientists across the UK access to compute power on a ‘world-leading scale’.
It places the University, the city of Edinburgh and wider region at the centre of a nation-wide effort to drive technological innovations and support industry using computing and AI.
The decision will protect jobs, which may otherwise have been lost from Scotland, and provide further benefits and investment to the regional economy.
“This significant investment will have a profoundly positive impact on the UK’s global standing, and we welcome the vast opportunities it will create for research and innovation,” said Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice chancellor of the University of Edinburgh.
“Building on the University of Edinburgh’s expertise and experience over decades, this powerful supercomputer will drive economic growth by supporting advancements in medicine, bolstering emerging industries and public services, and unlocking the full potential of AI. We look forward to working alongside the UK Government and other partners to deliver this critical UK-wide resource.”
Once operational, the supercomputer will provide high-performance computing capability for key research and industry projects across the UK.
It will enable researchers to undertake large-scale complex modelling, test scientific theories and improve products and public services in areas including medicine, climate change and national security.
The new supercomputer will vastly exceed the capacity of ARCHER2, the current national supercomputer also hosted by the University, which has an estimated peak performance of 28 Petaflops per second.
It will work alongside the forthcoming AI research resource, a network of the UK’s most powerful supercomputers built to bolster scientific research.
The investment comes after the government cut £800 million in funding last year from the university’s supercomputing budget. The announcement is an effective u-turn from the Chancellor, who also reinstated winter fuel payments for pensioners this week.
“I am incredibly proud that we have been confirmed to host the UK’s new national supercomputer,” said Professor Mark Parsons, director of EPCC and dean of research computing at the University of Edinburgh. “These are immensely complex systems, and we will use everything we have learned over the past 30 years to run the best possible service for our thousands of users from across the UK’s scientific and industrial research communities.”
Ian Murray, secretary of state for Scotland, added: “This is a landmark moment and will place Scotland at the forefront of the UK’s technological revolution. The £750 million investment in Edinburgh’s new supercomputer places Scotland at the cutting edge of computing power globally.
“This will see Scotland playing a leading role in creating breakthroughs that have a global benefit – such as new medicines, health advances, and climate change solutions.”
