Construction of UK’s massive new supercomputer near Edinburgh reaches final frame

Construction of the UK’s forthcoming national supercomputer, located near Roslin in Midlothian, has reached a key milestone with the completion of its steel frame and placement of the final beam, an event attended by AI Minister Kanishka Narayan, Professor Kim Graham, the University of Edinburgh’s provost and EPCC director Mark Parsons. The facility, the size of a large supermarket, will provide high-performance computing for research into sustainable aircraft design, extreme weather modelling, drug discovery and other critical challenges, aiming for a launch in early 2028.

Funding comes from the UK Government via UKRI, and the project is a partnership between UKRI and the University of Edinburgh’s EPCC, the nation’s first supercomputing centre. During the visit, the minister met researchers at the School of Chemistry and BioQuarter, highlighting the role of supercomputing in tackling antibiotic resistance, Covid-19 treatments and neurological diseases. Robertson Group, the construction contractor, emphasized its long-standing collaboration with the university on the nationally significant build. The completed frame signals that the “Next National Supercomputer” is moving rapidly toward becoming a major asset for academia and industry.