The UK government has announced a £45 million investment in a new supercomputer named Sunrise, marking a step in establishing the AI Growth Zone at the UK Atomic Energy Authority's (UKAEA) Culham Campus in Oxfordshire.
Scheduled to begin operations in June, Sunrise will be dedicated to advancing fusion energy research. The system is designed to address challenges such as plasma turbulence, materials development, and tritium fuel breeding. In addition to supporting fusion energy, Sunrise will provide computational capabilities that seek to benefit other clean energy technologies and the UK’s net-zero goals.
By strengthening AI and high-performance computing capabilities at Culham Campus, Sunrise contributes to the UK’s broader AI and scientific strategies, including the AI Opportunities Action Plan and AI for Science Strategy.
The project brings together partners from industry and academia, including AMD, Dell Technologies, Intel, the University of Cambridge, and UKAEA. Sunrise will deliver up to 6.76 Exaflops of AI-accelerated modelling, enabling detailed simulations and digital twins for complex systems.
Sunrise will support multiple UK fusion programmes, including the LIBRTI (Lithium Breeding Tritium Innovation) programme, which focuses on tritium fuel-cycle technologies, and STEP Fusion, the UK’s flagship initiative to demonstrate fusion energy by the 2040s.
This work builds on earlier investments, such as the £36 million provided to the Cambridge supercomputing centre in 2023, supporting initiatives like the Industrial Metaverse to enhance prototype fusion power plant design.
Overall, Sunrise represents a step in combining AI and high-performance computing with scientific research, helping to translate fusion energy research into practical applications and supporting the UK’s position in sustainable energy development.
