Perry announces initiative for the development of exascale supercomputers
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced Monday a Request for Proposals (RFP), worth potentially up to $1.8 billion, for the development of at least two exascale supercomputers to be deployed at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories in the 2021-2023 timeframe.
These supercomputers would be deployed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California.
The FRP provides an opportunity for the development of two system designs with possible cost ranges of $400-$600 million each as well as a potential third design.
Secretary Perry authorized the first U.S. exascale system, named Aurora, in June 2017. Aurora is currently under development at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and is scheduled to come online in 2021.
Monday’s RFP announced today also includes the possibility of upgrades or a follow-on system to Aurora in 2022-2023, dependent upon an assessment of needs and opportunities at that time.
“These new systems represent the next generation in supercomputing and will be critical tools both for our nation’s scientists and for U.S. industry,” Perry said. “They will help ensure America’s continued leadership in the vital area of high performance computing, which is an essential element of our national security, prosperity, and competitiveness as a nation.”
The new systems will provide 50 to 100 times greater performance than the current fastest U.S. supercomputer.
They are expected to enable breakthroughs in science and industry through modeling and simulation, high-performance data analysis and artificial intelligence and machine learning applications. They could assist with identifying next-generation materials, analyzing high-energy physics data, combating cancer, accelerating industrial product design and reducing cost-to-market and evaluation options for nuclear security.
UT-Battelle LLC, which operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory on behalf of the Department of Energy, is managing the FRP for CORAL, the collaboration of Oak Ridge, Argonne, and Livermore national laboratories.
The DOE Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) are jointly providing funding for the RFP.
