STFC Unveils New Mary Coombs Supercomputer to Drive UK Innovation Through AI
From new medicines to clean energy breakthroughs, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has launched a new supercomputer — named Mary Coombs — designed to help UK businesses harness artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing for faster, smarter innovation.
Housed within the STFC’s new £30 million Supercomputing Centre at Daresbury Laboratory in the Liverpool City Region, the system is named in honour of Mary Coombs, the UK’s first female commercial programmer. It will provide companies and public sector organisations of all sizes with access to cutting-edge computing power and expertise.
By helping industries process vast datasets and accelerate complex research — from drug discovery to climate modelling — the new system will enable the transformation of ideas into real-world solutions more efficiently and at greater scale, supporting productivity and growth across the UK economy.
Accelerating innovation and discovery
Based at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory at Sci-Tech Daresbury, the Hartree Centre is the UK’s only supercomputing facility dedicated to advancing industrial innovation through collaboration with businesses.
Home to some of the nation’s leading experts in AI, data science and supercomputing, the centre supports organisations of all sizes in solving complex challenges, driving forward digital transformation, and strengthening the UK’s position as a global innovation leader.
Real-world impact
Professor Kate Royse, Director of the STFC Hartree Centre, said:
“Here at the Hartree Centre, our new Mary Coombs supercomputer can provide UK industry with the computing power, expertise and skills needed to turn ambitious ideas into real-world solutions.
“From drug discovery to climate research, businesses can process vast and complex datasets faster and more efficiently than ever before, without needing in-house supercomputing or AI expertise.
“By giving industry access to world-class AI and high performance computing, and to the leading skills of our Hartree Centre scientists, Mary Coombs can help businesses innovate with confidence, accelerate research, and bring solutions to market more quickly, delivering tangible benefits for our economy and society.”
A leap in supercomputing power
Mary Coombs delivers a tenfold increase in performance compared to its predecessor, Scafell Pike, while achieving greater energy efficiency.
With a processing capability of 24.41 petaflops — equivalent to 24.41 quadrillion calculations per second — the GPU-based system is purpose-built for AI workloads and advanced visualisation. For perspective, it would take nearly 773 million years to perform the same number of calculations manually at one per second.
Leading the digital frontier
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
“When I speak to investors from the UK and beyond, they always sit up and pay attention when I tell them that the Liverpool City Region is at the heart of the UK’s advanced computing sector.
“From cutting edge AI research to breakthroughs in health innovation and climate science, the impact of the pioneering work happening at Daresbury can be felt far beyond our region, and this new supercomputer will turbocharge those capabilities even further.”
A cornerstone for national innovation
Paul Vernon, Head of STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, said:
“The launch of the STFC Supercomputing Centre and Mary Coombs marks an important milestone for UK innovation, giving businesses access to world-class tools and expertise to turn ideas into reality.
“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.
“By giving businesses the infrastructure to explore and apply advanced digital technologies, we’re helping to build a stronger, more innovative digital economy and ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of global research and development, driving growth and opportunity across the nation.”
Supporting the UK’s digital future
The new supercomputer is part of the £210 million Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI) — a partnership between STFC and IBM aimed at helping businesses and the public sector adopt advanced digital technologies such as AI, quantum computing and data analytics to enhance productivity and innovation.
The launch of the STFC Supercomputing Centre also aligns with the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, supporting national ambitions to lead the global digital economy.