1.4MW mission-focused supercomputer named ‘Sunrise’, primed to be the world's most powerful AI supercomputer dedicated to fusion energy
The UK taxpayers are investing £45 million for a 1.4MW mission-focused supercomputer named ‘Sunrise’, a key first step in establishing the country’s first AI Growth Zone at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Culham Campus in Oxfordshire.
As announced in the Fusion Strategy, Sunrise is targeted for operation in June this year and is primed to be the world’s most powerful AI supercomputer dedicated to fusion energy.
Funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Sunrise will tackle key fusion energy challenges in areas such as plasma turbulence, materials development and tritium fuel breeding, while delivering spillover benefits to other clean energy technologies and the UK’s broader net zero ambitions.
Sunrise will also strengthen essential AI capabilities at Culham Campus and across the UK’s high-performance computing landscape, contributing to the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan and AI for Science Strategy.
Sunrise will see AMD, DESNZ, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Dell Technologies, Intel, UKAEA, the University of Cambridge, and WEKA working together.
It will deliver up to 6.76 Exaflops of AI-accelerated modelling, enabling high-fidelity simulations and the creation of digital twins for complex systems.
Lord Vallance, Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, said:
Dr Rob Akers, UKAEA’s Director for Computing Programmes, said:
Dr Paul Calleja, Director of the Cambridge Research Computing Service, said:
Thomas Zacharia, SVP, Strategy and Development, Public Sector, AMD, said:
Tariq Hussain, UK Head of Public Sector, Dell Technologies, said:
Simon Wilyman - GM UK/I & Northern Europe, Intel Corporation, said:
Liran Zvibel, Co-Founder & CEO, WEKA, said:
Sunrise will be used to address real-world challenges from a wide range of UK fusion programmes to drive critical advancements for the LIBRTI (Lithium Breeding Tritium Innovation) programme, which is developing tritium fuel-cycle technologies for self-sufficiency in future fusion operations, and for STEP Fusion, the UK’s flagship initiative to demonstrate fusion energy in the 2040s.
In 2023, Dell Technologies, Intel, the University of Cambridge and UKAEA shared plans to use supercomputers and AI to advance the development of the UK’s prototype fusion power plant design capabilities through the ‘Industrial Metaverse’.
In January 2026, £36 million of taxpayer investment was injected into the Cambridge supercomputing centre. The supercomputers will support modern AI workloads and simulation demand to turn breakthrough research into practical applications.