Construction on the site of the UK’s most powerful computer has begun at the University of Edinburgh.

The new facility will be around “fifty times more powerful” than the country’s current national supercomputer according to the university.

The UK’s next national supercomputer, owned by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and hosted at the University of Edinburgh, would help lead research in areas such as aircraft engineering, extreme weather events and drug discovery for cancer, according to the University.

Experts say that the machine, funded by an investment of up to £750 million from The UK Government, is “critical to driving economic growth”.

The computer would be around “fifty times more powerful” than the UK’s current national supercomputer, ARCHER2, which is also housed at the University of Edinburgh.

Researchers say it will be able to carry out incredibly complex calculations “in hours rather than days”, and solve much larger problems than ever before.

Latest processors in the new machine will allow it to deliver at least a billion – billion calculations per second. Its processing power is an increase from the 20 million – billion calculations per second currently delivered by ARCHER2.

ARCHER2 aided Covid-19 drug-discovery and enabled engineers to make wind farms more efficient.

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: “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.”

UK AI Minister, Kanishka Narayan, said: “Today’s milestone in Edinburgh marks a decisive step in delivering our Compute Roadmap – building the sovereign computing power Britain needs to stay in control of its future in AI and science.

“For decades, Edinburgh has been at the heart of world-leading supercomputing. This new machine takes that further – making sure UK researchers, businesses and innovators have the cutting-edge power they need here in the UK, rather than relying on others.

“This is what will unlock the next generation of breakthroughs – from training more powerful AI systems to accelerating scientific discovery and creating new products and high-growth businesses. It is our Industrial Strategy in action, turning British ideas into the jobs and industries of the future.”

Supercomputing also allows researchers to model flood risks for communities, understand changes in our ocean temperatures, and simulate earthquakes.

A recent independent report showed that ARCHER2 generated £8 per £1 invested, enabling more than £4.2billion in benefits for the UK economy.

The University say that having the supercomputer sited in Scotland has been a “benefit to sustainability concerns thanks to its cooler air” alongside other technology reducing the machine’s energy demands.

It has also said that environmental considerations are at the “forefront” of the new supercomputer’s design.

Surplus heat generated would be used to warm University buildings, with research planned to assess if it could also be used to warm local homes by warming mine-water in disused mines. 

Currently, ARCHER2 is estimated to run with the same water usage as three typical households.

Site demolition for the new supercomputer’s home has reportedly been kept to a minimum to reduce environmental impacts, while the University stated that a number of sustainability projects were planned with the construction team, including tree planting, protecting ancient trees, and conservation projects for local wildlife.

Construction work on the building, which is “around the size of a supermarket”, is being carried out by Robertson Construction Central East.

Professor Liz Baggs, vice-principal for research and innovation and Chair of Food and Environmental Security at the University of Edinburgh, said: “The best research advances can happen when skills and talent are enabled by exceptional tools.

“This Supercomputer has the potential to help UK researchers accelerate frontiers, unlock new paradigms, and develop solutions to challenges that were previously impossible.

“This includes creating the next generation of medicines, revealing untold stories about our planet, and, most excitingly, leading to discoveries that we can’t even imagine yet.”

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