Exascale Supercomputers

- Overview

Exascale supercomputers are the next generation of supercomputers, capable of processing information at least one exaflop floating point calculations per second, or one quintillion calculations per second. This is 1,000 times faster than the previous generation of supercomputers. 

Exascale supercomputers can handle the demands of simulation, AI, analytics, and converged modeling workloads. They can help scientists and engineers with: Solving for chemical elements origins, Controlling unstable chemicals and materials, Validating laws of nature, Probing particle physics, and Pushing the boundaries of current knowledge. 

The Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is expected to be the first exascale computer in the United States. In 2022, Frontier was announced as the world's first public exascale computer, and as of November 2023, it is the world's fastest supercomputer. 

Europe is also expected to launch its first exascale supercomputer, Jupiter, in 2024. Jupiter will be housed at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany.

- Exascale: the Engine of Discovery

The fastest supercomputers in the world today solve problems at the petascale—that is a quadrillion (10¹⁵) calculations each second. 

While these petascale systems are quite powerful, the next milestone in computing achievement is the exascale—a higher level of performance in computing that will have profound impacts on everyday life. 

At a quintillion (10¹⁸) calculations each second, exascale supercomputers will more realistically simulate the processes involved in precision medicine, regional climate, additive manufacturing, the conversion of plants to biofuels, the relationship between energy and water use, the unseen physics in materials discovery and design, the fundamental forces of the universe, and much more.