The UK no longer has a supercomputer in the top 50, according to new data from the Top500 project, which ranks the world's 500 most powerful non-distributed computer systems.
Currently, the country's national supercomputer system, Archer2, is scheduled to reach the end of its useful life in 2026. According to the latest statistics, the system currently ranks 62nd in the world, down from 49th place in June and 38th place last November.
The downturn comes shortly after the New Labor government shelved the previous government's plans to invest £800 million (about $1 billion) in a new “exascale” supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh.
Professor Mark Parsons, who has worked at the university's EPCC supercomputer center since 1994, said it would be a “disaster” if the UK did not change its investment in supercomputers. “You can't be a country the size of Britain without supercomputers,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times. “It will hinder the progress of science and innovation in the UK.”