Sept. 22, 2025, AUCKLAND, New Zealand — HPE (NYSE:HPE) today announced that Earth Sciences New Zealand (formally NIWA) of Aotearoa (New Zealand) selected the HPE Cray XD2000, built for AI and simulation workloads, for the organization’s environmental science and of meteorological forecasting.
The system, named Cascade, replaces Earth Sciences New Zealand’s aging high performance computing with a threefold increase in computational power for researchers to run multiple AI-powered simulations simultaneously. The system supports Earth Sciences New Zealand’s mission to strengthen the country’s resilience against weather and climate-related hazards, such as wildfires and flooding.
Cascade is powered by AMD 4th Gen EPYC processors and tightly coupled with HPE GreenLake for File Storage to deliver a simplified storage environment and enable 19 petabytes of data to accelerate local research, faster decision-making and crisis management.
The Cascade system has direct liquid cooling technology that minimizes energy use and water usage and cools the computational cluster, which was architected to allow future expansion. The electricity supplied to the CDC data centre, where Cascade is housed, is generated from 100 percent renewable sources, HPE said.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Earth Sciences New Zealand on this groundbreaking initiative,” said Chris Weber, Vice President and Managing Director, South Pacific at HPE. “By delivering advanced HPC and AI capabilities, we’re empowering New Zealand’s leading climate and environmental researchers with the tools they need to drive scientific discovery and tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time. Importantly, we’re able to maximise energy efficiency through direct liquid cooling and leverage renewable energy. This collaboration showcases the true potential of technology to make a meaningful impact, both locally and globally.”
HPE said Earth Sciences New Zealand’s Cascade is set to be the largest implementation in the Asia Pacific region of HPE GreenLake for File Storage, across both HPC and traditional enterprise computing.
Based in Auckland, Earth Sciences New Zealand is the country’s leading provider of natural and environmental science services. As an island nation, New Zealand faces unique challenges from atmospheric rivers – narrow corridors in the atmosphere that carry large quantities of water vapor and are known to cause major rainfall events.
“This upgrade with HPE Cray XD2000 marks a huge leap forward in our ability to understand and predict the environment around us,” says Dr. Jess Robertson, Chief Scientist – Advanced Technology at Earth Sciences New Zealand. “Enhancing scientific research with the advanced technology solutions gives us the tools to make smarter and safer decisions with confidence for New Zealand in a changing climate.”
Alongside its forecasting capabilities, Earth Sciences New Zealand also supports the country’s low-carbon economy and biodiversity protection, improving water quality, social equity, and regional development.
Cascade is built to operate at full capacity for longer, maximizing scalability and up-time. Cascade will also use real-time data for a forecasting technique referred to as nowcasting, which uses AI to predict short-term, localized weather rapidly, supporting the inclusion of solar and wind in high-frequency energy markets as well as emergency response to fires and extreme weather.
