The University of Edinburgh Exascale Supercomputer is set to receive up to £750 million as part of Wednesday’s spending review by the UK government.
The move overturns a controversial decision to suspend funding for the Supercomputer made in the early days of Keir Starmer’s UK Labour government.
Last July, the new Labour UK government cancelled about £800 million that had been pledged to the University of Edinburgh for the Supercomputer, claiming the previous Conservative government had failed to properly allocate the money.
Announcing the Supercomputer plan in October 2023, the university said it would be 50 times faster than any of the UK’s existing machines.
It said the Exascale Supercomputer would perform one billion billion calculations each second to provide high-performance computing capability for key research and industry projects across the UK.
The university said Exascale will help researchers “model all aspects of the world, test scientific theories and improve products and services in areas such as drug discovery, climate change, astrophysics and advanced engineering.”
The university said: “Exascale is the latest in a series of nationally strategic computing and AI developments at Edinburgh since the University established research hubs in the disciplines 60 years ago.”
Exascale will be housed in a new £31 million wing of EPCC’s Advanced Computing Facility, which has been purpose-built as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.
On Wednesday, the UK government said: “Scotland will be home to the UK’s most powerful supercomputer to drive forward innovations that grow our economy and ensure people are better off, putting Edinburgh at heart of the UK’s plans to unlock a decade of national renewal through artificial intelligence.
“The news comes after the Prime Minister kicked off London Tech Week by unveiling £1 billion of extra funding to scale up the country’s AI compute power twenty-fold. Following that announcement, the Chancellor has now confirmed up to a further £750 million to build the UK’s new national supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh, strengthening Britain’s position as an AI-maker and research power, with researchers and start-ups backed to deliver new waves of innovations and discoveries.
“Edinburgh’s new supercomputer will give scientists from across the UK the compute power they need for cutting edge research and making the next big breakthrough – whether that’s personalised medical treatments, making air travel more sustainable, or modelling climate change. This will form part of the Chancellor’s commitment to investing in Britain’s renewal at the Spending Review today (Wednesday), ensuring the British people are better off – from better health to economic growth.
“The supercomputer will work alongside the AI research resource, a network of the UK’s most powerful supercomputers that were built to bolster scientific research. The AI Research Resource, which is due to come into operation soon, is already being used to research Alzheimer’s vaccines and treatments for cancer by simulating how drugs work inside the body and ‘testing’ millions of potential drugs virtually to speed up the creation of new medicines.
“Ahead of that moment, the Isambard system has this week been ranked in the top ten globally and top 5 in Europe for publicly available supercomputers. According to the latest Top500 rankings, it also ranks as a leader in terms of efficiency, setting a clear benchmark of how the UK government is delivering on its AI ambitions while driving forward its mission to become a clean energy superpower.”
UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said: “From the shipyards of the Clyde to developments in steam engine technology, Scottish trailblazers were central to the industrial revolution – so the next great industrial leap through AI and technology should be no different.
“Basing the UK’s most powerful supercomputer in Edinburgh, Scotland will now be a major player in driving forward the next breakthroughs that put our Plan for Change into action.”
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “We are investing in Scotland’s renewal, so working people are better off.
“Strong investment in our science and technology sector is part of our Plan for Change to kickstart economic growth, and as the home of the UK’s largest supercomputer, Scotland will be an integral part of that journey.”
Principal of the University of Edinburgh, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, said: “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.
“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 national resource.”
The new supercomputer will vastly exceed the capacity of the UK’s current national supercomputer, ARCHER2.