Axed: £800m Edinburgh University 'exascale' supercomputer victim of Labour spending cuts

Ambitious £800 million plans to create an “exascale” supercomputer at Edinburgh University have been cast into doubt as a result of Labour government spending cuts.

The funding was announced in October last year and the university is said to have already spent £31m building housing for the computer. There has been a global rush to build the next generation of immensely powerful exascale supercomputers and the project was considered to be a priority by the previous Conservative UK government.

However, the new Labour government has reportedly shelved £1.3 billion of funding pledged by the Conservatives for major technology and artificial intelligence (AI) projects, including £800m for the creation of an exascale supercomputer at Edinburgh. A further £500m for AI Research Resource, which funds computing power for AI, is also said to be affected.

The University of Edinburgh has been at the forefront of supercomputing for decades.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said the funding had been promised by the previous administration but was never allocated in its budget.

In a statement, the DSIT said: “The government is taking difficult and necessary spending decisions across all departments in the face of billions of pounds of unfunded commitments. This is essential to restore economic stability and deliver our national mission for growth.”

In its release last October, the then Conservative government said: “Edinburgh is poised to host a next-generation computer system amongst the fastest in the world, with the potential to revolutionise breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, medicine and clean low-carbon energy.

“The city has been named as the preferred choice to host the new national exascale facility, as the UK government continues to invest in the country’s world-leading computing capacity - crucial to the running of modern economies and cutting-edge scientific research. The investment will mean new high-skilled jobs for Edinburgh.”

Exascale computing is seen as a significant achievement in computer engineering, with the potential to revolutionise weather forecasting, climate modelling and personalised medicine. Exascale also reaches the estimated processing power of the human brain at the neural level, able to perform one billion billion calculations each second.

In response to the funding announcement last October, Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: “We are thrilled to be chosen to host this significant leap forward in the UK’s supercomputing capabilities. Bringing the exascale computer to Edinburgh is a testament to our expertise in managing such world-class facilities, and the depth of global talent in computer science and AI within the University.

“Exascale’s power will help all who work with it to untangle some of the world’s knottiest problems, ensure the UK is prepared for the data-driven future, and further establish Edinburgh as the data capital of Europe.”

The University of Edinburgh has been at the forefront of supercomputing for more than 30 years and hosts the national supercomputer Archer2. A university spokesperson said: “The University of Edinburgh has led the way in supercomputing within the UK for decades, and is ready to work with the government to support the next phase of this technology in the UK, in order to unlock its benefits for industry, public services and society.”

Sir Peter is said to be urgently seeking a meeting with the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology.

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