A structural beam of the new national supercomputer was signed yesterday by Britain’s AI minister – as the facility nears completion.
Work on the £750 million facility outside Edinburgh is progressing at such a rate that switching the supercomputer on is now ‘tantalisingly close’.
Kanishka Narayan, the UK Government’s minister for AI, signed the commemorative steel beam to complete the frame of the building ahead of its planned opening in 2028.
The site, the size of a supermarket, is set to be the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, with construction beginning earlier this year.
Once open, the facility will empower ‘world-changing discoveries in fields including sustainable aircraft engineering, extreme weather events and drug discovery,’ according to the University of Edinburgh.
Mr Narayan said: “Seeing construction underway in Edinburgh is a powerful reminder that the UK’s ambition to build world-leading compute capability is becoming a reality.
“This next national supercomputer will be a vital national asset, giving researchers and companies the power to pursue transformational discoveries on British shores and strengthening our position at the forefront of global science.”
Professor Kim Graham, provost, University of Edinburgh, added: “This is an exciting moment for Edinburgh and the UK as the construction on the external build for the next national supercomputer nears completion. It has been a privilege to host minister Narayan at the site, showcasing Edinburgh’s globally-impactful contributions in health innovation, supercomputing, AI and advanced technologies.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the UK Government to deliver on their priorities, boosting economic growth in our region and across the UK.”
Supercomputing allows researchers to carry out modelling that is simply unfeasible or too costly to do in the real-world, such as simulating heart blood flow, predicting heatwaves, modelling flood defences, and understanding volcanic eruptions – helping to accelerate scientific discovery, improve public services, and enhance the UK’s resilience to future challenges.
Mr Narayan toured the facility with professor Mark Parsons, director of the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre, who also signed the steel beam with members of the build team and professor Graham.
The work is funded by the UK Government through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and is delivered as a partnership between UKRI and the University of Edinburgh’s EPCC, the UK’s first national supercomputing centre.