Singapore, October 25, 2024 -- Singapore will commit S$270 million to develop its national supercomputing infrastructure and strengthen the National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore’s capabilities to support local research. The announcement was made by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF), at the official launch of the ASPIRE 2A and 2A+ systems, which are research supercomputers managed by NSCC.

The grant, provided by NRF, will fund the development of NSCC’s next-generation supercomputer to meet the growing demand for high-performance computing (HPC) resources and unlock new research opportunities. The next supercomputer to follow 2A+ is expected to be operational in the latter half of 2025. It will explore greater synergies and integration between classical supercomputers and quantum computers. This combination will be crucial in solving future research challenges’ ever-growing complexity and data intensiveness.

In addition to infrastructure development, the grant will support talent and skills development within Singapore’s HPC ecosystem. NSCC will expand its initiatives to equip local researchers and scientists with enhanced capabilities, focusing on developing advanced algorithms, optimizing large-scale HPC and AI projects, and improving research efficiency. These efforts will enable faster, more impactful breakthroughs across various fields. In collaboration with local universities, research institutes, and HPC companies, NSCC will mentor and train talent to create new HPC tools, applications, and software. An upcoming initiative, the Young Investigator Seed Programme, specifically nurtures early-career researchers by providing access to HPC resources. Resources will also be set aside for SMEs and startups to accelerate their research into business applications and innovations, helping them sharpen their competitive edge in the market.

Additionally, the grant will promote partnerships with international supercomputing centers, including those in Japan and Finland. This collaboration will allow Singapore to tap global expertise, knowledge, and strategies in shared areas of interest, further enhancing local HPC capabilities and driving skills development.

“At NSCC, our value proposition goes beyond the bare metal hardware and technology we provide. In addition to our supercomputers, we are focusing on three key areas: expanding our HPC capacity and diversity, strengthening organizational and operational excellence, and cultivating talent and empowering our users to achieve greater breakthroughs,” said Dr. Terence Hung, Chief Executive of National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore.

Official launch of ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+

The launch of ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+, Singapore’s high-performance research supercomputers, marks a significant milestone in strengthening the country’s strategic supercomputing infrastructure. Managed by NSCC, these systems are designed to accelerate advancements in key areas such as climate and weather research, materials and chemical sciences, genetics and healthcare, advanced modeling and simulation, and big data analytics. The new resources of ASPIRE 2A+ will also greatly benefit fields like large language models, generative AI, and quantum simulations, as well as advanced materials research, biomedical, and health sciences, as part of the AI for Science initiative. Detailed specifications of ASPIRE 2A and 2A+ can be found in Annex A.

ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+ are already delivering impactful results. A notable example is the Third

National Climate Change Study (V3), conducted by the National Environment Agency’s Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS). NSCC’s supercomputers were instrumental in producing Southeast Asia’s highest-resolution climate projections by downscaling global climate models from 100 km to 2 km over Singapore. This simulation analyzed over 3,000 years’ worth of climate data in just four years and provided policymakers and businesses with vital insights to plan for extreme weather, heat stress, and rising sea levels, helping safeguard Singapore’s infrastructure and economy.

“Access to large-scale supercomputing resources is essential for modern-day weather and climate science. For example, regional climate projections, such as Singapore’s 3rd National Climate Study launched in January 2024, rely on supercomputers to perform millions of calculations per second using sophisticated climate models. These provide detailed insights into the local impacts of climate change in the coming decades. The rise of AI-based weather prediction and ‘hybrid’ physical and AI climate models represents a potential step change in Singapore’s capabilities to prepare for extreme weather and the broader impacts of climate change. The next generation of NSCC’s supercomputers will help drive these advancements,” said Prof Dale Barker, Director, Centre for Climate Research Singapore, National Environment Agency.

The launch of ASPIRE 2A and ASPIRE 2A+ reinforces Singapore’s commitment to building a robust supercomputing infrastructure that supports research and improves lives. With these new systems, Singapore is well-positioned to stay competitive and meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving technological landscape.