AI supercomputer to help researchers at Culham Campus

The 1.4MW mission-focused supercomputer, named Sunrise, will establish the AI built at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Culham Campus near Abingdon in Oxfordshire.  

It is part of the government’s fusion strategy to position the UK as a global leader in commercial fusion energy and is due for operation in June this year.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is investing £45m for it to tackle key fusion energy challenges in areas such as plasma, turbulence, materials development and tritium fuel breeding.

It will deliver up to 6.76 Exaflops of AI-accelerated modelling, enabling high-fidelity simulations and the creation of digital twins for complex systems.

Companies like Dell Technologies, Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis, will work with the University of Cambridge, the Department for Science and Innovation and the UKAEA.

Lord Patrick Vallance, minister for science, innovation, research and nuclear, said: “We can be proud that Britain will lead the way on research, innovation and skills for a future of limitless fusion energy. 

“By backing our fusion industry, we are not only securing our future energy independence, but from innovation and research to engineers, we are also providing the skilled clean energy jobs of the future for British people.”

Dr Rob Akers, UKAEA’s Director for Computing Programmes, said: “Sunrise will bring that capability to fusion by combining high-fidelity simulation with physics-informed AI to develop predictive digital twins that reduce the cost, risk and time of learning that would otherwise require expensive and time-consuming physical testing.”