The HPC industry is involved in a worldwide arms race to build Exascale systems. The next generation of HPC systems will be much more challenging for users, with millions of heterogeneous processor cores, complex memory hierarchies and different programming approaches. The UK is addressing these issues to keep its industry at the forefront of HPC use. In recent years the UK government has been lobbied by the HPC community to fund systems to help smooth the transition towards the next generation of HPC hardware and software. The UK e-Infrastructure has been refreshed in order to support academic use, and to increase economic output through the industrial exploitation of HPC. Using large scale HPC facilities can enable scientists and engineers to do things that were not possible before, such as adding new capabilities to an application, or increasing the fidelity of modelling used – which can in turn lead to the development of better, lighter, stronger products that are less expensive to manufacture.

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