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Investing.com -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has struck a $1 billion deal with Advanced Micro Devices to build two powerful supercomputers aimed at advancing nuclear research, fusion energy, and cancer treatment, according to Reuters.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright reportedly told Reuters the systems would “supercharge advances in nuclear power and fusion energy, technologies for defense and national security, and the development of drugs.”
Wright said scientists are working to replicate the fusion, the reaction that powers the sun, noting, “We’ve made great progress, but plasmas are unstable, and we need to recreate the center of the sun on Earth.”
Reuters said the first system, called Lux, will come online within six months and is based on AMD’s MI355X artificial intelligence chips.
It is being co-developed by AMD, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
AMD CEO Lisa Su told Reuters the Lux deployment was “the fastest deployment of this size of computer that she has seen,” adding it reflects the “speed and agility” needed for U.S. AI efforts.
According to Reuters, the second system, Discovery, will use AMD’s upcoming MI430 chips, designed for high-performance computing and AI workloads. Discovery is expected to be delivered in 2028 and operational by 2029.
ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer told Reuters the Lux system will deliver “about three times the AI capacity of current supercomputers.”
The DOE and its industry partners will share access to both systems, Reuters said, adding that officials view this as the first of several public-private supercomputing collaborations across the country.