HPE to Deliver ‘El Capitan’ Supercomputer to DOE for Nuclear Modernization Efforts

Hewlett Packard Enterprise has partnered with the National Nuclear Security Administration to deploy an exascale computer to the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California for nuclear stockpile modernization initiatives.

HPE said Wednesday that LLNL will manage the supercomputer named El Capitan to support operations at the facility as well as the Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico.

El Capitan is built to process data up to 10 times faster than current supercomputers to support modeling, simulation and analytics activities. The supercomputer uses HPE's Cray Shasta technology to support accelerator and processor functions, the company noted.

LLNL intends to use the system to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning for high-performance computing. HPE said such activities will support applications like stockpile modernization and inertial confinement fusion.

“HPE is honored to support the U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in a critical strategic mission to advance the United States’ position in security and defense,” said Peter Ungaro, senior vice president and general manager for HPC and mission critical solutions at HPE.

The company expects to complete the delivery by early 2023.