UK’s New Mary Coombs AI Supercomputer to Accelerate Innovation Across Industries

Unprecedented Computing Power for UK Innovation

The Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Hartree Centre has launched what sources indicate is a landmark AI supercomputer named after Mary Coombs, the UK’s first female commercial programmer. Housed in a new £30 million Supercomputing Centre at Daresbury Laboratory, the system is set to provide businesses and public sector organizations with access to cutting-edge computational resources and expertise.

Unprecedented Computing Power for UK Innovation
Transforming Research and Development
Driving Economic Growth and Collaboration
Capabilities and Applications
A Legacy of Innovation

Transforming Research and Development

According to reports, the Mary Coombs supercomputer delivers an impressive 24.41 petaflops—equivalent to 24.41 quadrillion calculations per second. This represents a tenfold performance increase over its predecessor, Scafell Pike, while operating with improved energy efficiency. Analysts suggest that such capabilities will dramatically accelerate research in fields such as drug discovery, climate modeling, and clean energy development.

Professor Kate Royse, Director of the STFC Hartree Centre, emphasized the system’s potential, stating that it enables businesses to “process vast and complex datasets faster and more efficiently than ever before.” She added that organizations can leverage these resources without needing in-house supercomputing or AI expertise, thereby lowering barriers to innovation.

Driving Economic Growth and Collaboration

The supercomputer is part of the £210 million Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI), a collaboration between STFC and IBM. The report states that this initiative aligns with the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, aimed at reinforcing the country’s position as a global leader in artificial intelligence.

Paul Vernon, Head of STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, highlighted the broader implications: “This new facility is an important national asset for research and innovation, strengthening the North West’s position as a hub for advanced technology, digital skills, and high-value jobs.”

Capabilities and Applications

Designed specifically for AI workloads, machine learning, and advanced visualization, the GPU-based system is expected to have a profound impact across multiple sectors. Sources indicate that its applications include:, according to industry analysis

Accelerating drug discovery and development
Improving climate change predictions
Advancing clean energy solutions
Enabling small and large businesses to harness AI technologies

To put its performance into perspective, analysts suggest that a human performing one calculation per second would need over 773 million years to match what the Mary Coombs supercomputer can achieve in a single second.

A Legacy of Innovation

Named in honor of Mary Coombs, a trailblazer in computing history, the supercomputer symbolizes the UK’s commitment to inclusivity and technological advancement. As the Hartree Centre continues to drive digital innovation, the report states that the Mary Coombs system will play a pivotal role in turning ambitious ideas into real-world solutions, fostering growth, and ensuring the UK remains competitive in the global research landscape.

For more information, visit the Hartree Centre’s High-Performance Computing page or explore the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation.