We welcome new applicants to the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) high performance computing (HPC) facilities.
Before you apply for funding
In your funding application, you must state that you need research council facilities in the ‘Facilities’ section. If you do not do this, NERC cannot guarantee access to HPC.
You do not need to add costs for NERC HPC services.
See NERC policy on access to high performance computing for full guidance.
If you are a Doctoral Training Partnership student
Submit one application per institution where possible, especially if you share a supervisor.
Include your DTP reference number in your application.
JASMIN
JASMIN is the NERC facility for environmental data analysis. JASMIN provides data storage that enables data sharing within projects, CPU and GPU compute clusters, and cloud computing services, with high performance data transfer from both ARCHER2 and Monsoon.
Most NERC projects can use JASMIN free at the point of use. However, access charges may apply to projects with particularly large storage requirements.
When you need to contact JASMIN
You do not normally need to contact the JASMIN team before submitting your funding application. However, applicants with particularly large JASMIN storage requirements should raise these at the proposal stage to ensure that requirements can be met in a timely manner.
For requirements that exceed 30 terabytes (TB) but are under 100TB data storage, contact the relevant JASMIN consortium manager.
For requirements that exceed 100TB data storage, contact the JASMIN team.
This is for capacity planning only. It is not part of the peer review process.
After you receive funding
Create a JASMIN account through the JASMIN Accounts Portal.
Once you’ve created an account, you can request JASMIN resources through the JASMIN Projects Portal.
Monsoon
Monsoon is the joint NERC-Met Office supercomputing service.
You do not need to provide any costs or units of use.
After you receive funding
Follow the Monsoon application procedure to request access.
ARCHER2 service
The ARCHER2 service ends 21 November 2026. Current ARCHER2 users should refer to the following guidance about the end of the service: ARCHER2 end of service user documentation.
Until details of new UKRI compute provision are confirmed, if you require HPC provision equivalent to ARCHER2 after the service end date, select ARCHER2 as a facility and include details of what your compute requirements are.
If your proposal is successful, we will work with you to determine the appropriate HPC facilities as new compute comes online. Alternatively, you can explore other UKRI HPC provisions or commercial HPC services noting these may be different in remit and access process. Any use of commercial HPC services will require inclusion of full access costs within your application.
Before submitting your application, we also advise you contact hpc@nerc.ukri.org to check for the latest guidance.
The UKRI and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology UK Compute Roadmap was published in July 2025 detailing plans to evolve the UK HPC landscape. Consultations with key stakeholder groups are currently taking place in conjunction with UKRI DRI, to understand ongoing and future demand and compute requirements. A town hall meeting took place in early summer 2026. Read the compute town hall slide deck, June 2026.
Key points and updates:
- preparation and procurement for the Next National Supercomputing Service (NNSS) is underway, with a target delivery date of late 2027
- a portfolio of National Compute Resources (NCRs) will complement the flagship NNSS and AI Research Resource systems, providing a diverse range of computational technologies for users across UKRI remit
- the existing Isambard 3 (University of Bristol), and Mary Coombs (STFC Hartree Centre) supercomputers will be operated as part of the NCR portfolio from April 2026
- four new National Compute Resources will come online in 2026 (new national computing resources to open doors for researchers), further details will follow
- access routes and frameworks for user support for NCRs are being developed, and further information will be shared when available
Computationally intensive research continues to be of strategic importance to NERC and we strongly encourage applicants to submit proposals requiring HPC access.
NERC will ensure proposals requiring HPC will not be disadvantaged through peer review during this period of change.
Contact a consortium leader
Before submitting your funding with HPC requirements equivalent to ARCHER2, you must contact the relevant ARCHER2 consortium leader to discuss requirements.
Atmospheric and Polar Sciences Consortium
Rosalyn Hatcher
Email: rosalyn.hatcher@ncas.ac.uk
Mineral and Geophysics Consortium
Professor John Brodholt
Email: j.brodholt@ucl.ac.uk
Oceanography and Shelf Seas Consortium
Dr Andrew Coward
Email: acc@noc.ac.uk
If you are unsure which of the three consortia is most appropriate for your application, contact Dr Andrew Coward in the first instance.
After you receive funding
Once your application has been approved for funding, and following receipt of your award letter, contact hpc@nerc.ukri.org who will advise on next steps.
Other UKRI HPC services
Tier 2 high performance computing services
UKRI-funded researchers can use supercomputing facilities at the Isambard 3 Tier 2 Supercomputer led by University of Bristol.
Euro HPC Supercomputers
UK researchers can apply to use the supercomputers on Euro HPC Supercomputers.
Artificial Intelligence Research Resource
UK researchers undertaking research related to artificial intelligence (AI) can access the Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (AIRR) managed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The AIRR compute clusters include:
- Isambard-AI (University of Bristol)
- Dawn (University of Cambridge)
AIRR is not listed in the UKRI Funding Service facilities list. Apply for AIRR through the Gateway route, which is open all year.
Ask about HPC services
General NERC HPC enquiries
Rebecca Scott
Email: hpc@nerc.ukri.org
ARCHER2 service enquiries
ARCHER2 helpdesk
Email: support@archer2.ac.uk
Telephone: 0131 650 5000
Last updated: 25 June 2026