The new £30 million Supercomputing Centre at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Daresbury Laboratory in the Liverpool City Region entered a new operational phase with the launch of the Mary Coombs AI supercomputer. The GPU-based system, capable of 24.41 petaflops, significantly expands the UK’s industrial high-performance computing capability and provides businesses and public-sector organisations with access to advanced AI, simulation and data analytics resources.
The facility forms part of the £210 million Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI). HNCDI is a collaboration between STFC and IBM designed to accelerate UK innovation in AI, quantum computing and digital engineering. This is while strengthening the Liverpool City Region’s position as a leading advanced computing hub. The development also comes as other European countries continue to expand their data center portfolios, such as Croatia with the 1GW Pantheon AI data center campus project.
STFC Supercomputinng Centre Fact Sheet
Location: Daresbury Laboratory, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Cheshire
Project Type: National supercomputing, AI and digital innovation facility
Facility Cost: £30 million
Programme: Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI)
Programme Value: £210 million
Developer / Owner: Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Operator: STFC Hartree Centre
Primary Purpose: Industrial supercomputing, AI, quantum computing and advanced data analytics
Latest Milestone: Launch of the Mary Coombs AI supercomputer
Supercomputer Performance: 24.41 petaflops
Technology: GPU-based high-performance computing platform
Key Applications:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Machine Learning
- Scientific simulation
- Digital engineering
- Climate modelling
- Drug discovery
- Manufacturing optimisation
Construction Contractor: Russell WBHO
Principal Technology Partner: IBM
Government Organisation: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Research Organisation: Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Campus: Sci-Tech Daresbury
Construction Commenced: 2023
Operational Milestone: Mary Coombs supercomputer launched in October 2025.
Contract awarded for a new supercomputing centre at Daresbury Laboratory in Liverpool
Reported November 22, 2022 – Russell WBHO of Manchester has been awarded the contract to build a new £30 million supercomputing center at Daresbury Laboratory in the Liverpool city region. Russell WBHO is preparing to begin work on the 6.2-acre site for the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It is planned to begin before the end of the year and will take 21 months to complete.
The contract was awarded after a competitive tender process conducted under the Crown Commercial Services Framework. Russell WBHO’s specialist team will oversee the construction of the 33,000-square-foot building. It will house two data halls that must be kept at 21-24 degrees. Additionally, it will also have an office suite with ancillary facilities.
The structure will be steel-framed, with composite cladding forming the external envelope. Russell WBHO will collaborate with data center M&E consultants Sudlows, as well as project management consultant Arcadis, architect AEW, structural engineers Healy Consulting, and environmental consultancy E3P.
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Construction of supercomputing center at Daresbury Laboratory
“We are particularly glad to secure this contract with STFC for the new supercomputing center at Daresbury Laboratory. This is following a multi-way tender process via the Crown Commercial Services Framework,” said Nick Sunderland, commercial director for Russell WBHO.
“Our involvement in the planning and pre-construction phases, combined with our extensive knowledge of highly specialized industrial and temperature-controlled facilities like this, has enabled us to present a viable budgeted program to deliver this scheme.”
The new supercomputing facility will support the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI) program. The program is a £210 million collaboration between STFC Hartree Centre and IBM. Consequently, it provides the industry with access to cutting-edge digital technologies and expertise.
The Hartree Centre’s supercomputing facilities are dedicated to industrial applications. They house some of the UK’s most advanced technologies in computing, data science, and artificial intelligence (AI). Specialist expertise and supercomputers are available to UK businesses. Thus, it will help to increase productivity and reduce the time and cost of developing new products.
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