The US Department of Energy (DOE) has just announced the development of a new supercomputer called “Discovery” that is expected to be 3-5 times faster than the current world leader, supercomputer “Frontier”. The completion of the development of “Discovery” is scheduled for the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028.
Currently, “Frontier” holds the title of the fastest supercomputer in the world, located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with a theoretical performance of 1.3 exaflops and 8,699,904 nuclei. It has been at the top of the TOP-500 ranking since May 2022. The upcoming Discovery supercomputer is anticipated to achieve a performance of up to 6.5 exaflops by implementing cutting-edge computing technologies.
Supercomputers play a crucial role in national security and military technology development for the USA. Discovery is designed to handle more complex tasks, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, while also significantly improving energy efficiency. Specific performance metrics for Discovery have not been disclosed at this time.
This announcement comes amidst rumors that China has already developed supercomputers that are 3-4 times more powerful than “Frontier”. Reports from the Wall Street Journal suggest that Chinese supercomputers Sunway and Tianhe-3 are classified, but it is believed that Sunway boasts around 39 million nuclei, four times more than Frontier.
The US Department of Energy aims to reclaim its position at the forefront of supercomputing with Discovery, enabling the scientific community to model the real world with unprecedented detail and solve complex problems that are challenging to address experimentally or theoretically.