Under the contract, Intel will partner with Cray to develop the next-generation high-performance computing (HPC) systems, known as Aurora and Theta, for the US DOE’s Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF).
The Aurora will be used for research into more powerful, efficient and durable batteries and solar panels as well as in areas include biological science, transportation efficiency and renewable energy.
The contract is part of the DOE’s aim to develop advanced supercomputers, which are five to seven times more powerful than today’s top supercomputers, at Argonne, Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge National Laboratories.
The joint Collaboration of Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore (CORAL) initiative will help to advance scientific research in the US.
Scheduled to be delivered in 2018, the largest system, known as Aurora, will have a peak performance of 180 petaflops and will be based on Intel’s HPC scalable system framework. The Aurora system will be a next-generation Cray Shasta supercomputer.
Planned be delivered in the 2016, the second system, theta, will serve as an early production system for the ALCF and will provide performance of 8.5 petaflops while requiring only 1.7MW of power.
US Science and Energy Under Secretary for Dr Franklin Orr said: "Argonne National Laboratory’s announcement of the Aurora supercomputer will advance low-carbon energy technologies and our fundamental understanding of the universe, while maintaining United States’ global leadership in high performance computing.
"This machine – part of the Department of Energy’s CORAL initiative – will put the United States one step closer to exascale computing."
Photo: Intel to deliver advanced supercomputer to the US Department of Energy. Photo: courtesy of Intel Corporation.
