High performance compute for Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council communities

High performance compute for Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council communities is sponsored by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Funding opportunity to provide compute resources to the EPSRC community to cater to specific compute needs in engineering and physical sciences. Expected to proceed, subject to approvals.

Access to high performance computing facilities: autumn 2025 – UKRI Funding opportunity: Access to high performance computing facilities: autumn 2025 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) , Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) , Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) , Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) , Medical Research Council (MRC) , Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) , Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) 9 September 2025 9:00am UK time 6 November 2025 4:00pm UK time Last updated: 21 October 2025 - see all updates This opportunity provides an open and flexible route to computational support for high quality projects across the entire UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) remit.

We particularly encourage applications that: involve early career researchers onboard and train new users significantly push the boundaries in computational research using high performance computing (HPC) in your field This application process is purely for compute resource for up to 12 months. No funding is available to successful applicants. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding.

This opportunity is being led by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of UKRI. To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible .

Business and international organisations are not eligible to apply. EPSRC standard eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit EPSRC’s eligibility page .

Research technical professionals, including research software engineers, are considered as academic employees and are eligible to be a project lead or co-lead under the same terms as traditional researchers. If you are a doctoral student looking to access the HPC resources through this application route, you must seek an eligible project lead to apply on your behalf.

The project lead: must oversee the preparation of the application will be responsible for how any time awarded is used You can only be a project lead or co-lead on a maximum of one application to each service. Each application you are included for as a project lead or co-lead must be a unique and distinct project.

International researchers As EPSRC is a lead funder for this opportunity, international researchers can only apply as ‘project co-lead (international)’ as part of applications making use of the UKRI-RCN Money Follows Cooperation agreement or the UKRI-IIASA agreement . You should include all other international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder. Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy . Equality, diversity and inclusion We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants.

We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers. We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes: support for people with caring responsibilities alternative working patterns UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

This opportunity provides researchers with an open and flexible route to computational support for high-quality projects across UKRI’s remit. The remit for applications to the Tier-2 service under this opportunity has been expanded across UKRI, to recognise the funding received through the UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure Programme .

We are looking to support a portfolio of projects across the HPC ecosystem, including but not limited to: extended feasibility or proof of concept studies (at a larger scale than is possible in pump priming projects) computational projects which may not warrant a full grant application computational projects linking consecutive grant applications or aiding the preparation of a full grant or fellowship application large amounts of compute for ambitious, computationally intensive simulations and calculations collaborations with industrial and international partners increase the development of computational science skills, such as allowing students to work jointly with project leads to achieve the aims of the proposed research, leading to improved software and coding skills, and career paths Compute resources available This application process is purely for compute resource.

No funding is available to successful applicants. You may apply for up to 50% of the resources available on any one system. The resources you apply for must be justified and deemed appropriate to the objectives of your project.

The HPC services available are: ARCHER2, Tier-1 national supercomputer service: EPSRC-remit research only, NERC-remit research should follow the separate established process Isambard 3, Tier-2 HPC service (UKRI remit) other Tier-2 HPC services (UKRI remit): Baskerville, Bede, Cirrus, CSD3, Jade, NI-HPC, Sulis. Projects for ARCHER2 can be up to nine months in duration. The current advertised service end date for ARCHER2 is November 2026.

Projects running on ARCHER2 beyond November 2026 are not guaranteed. Projects for Isambard3 can be in blocks of six or 12 months in duration. Projects requesting six months duration on Isambard3 may be requested to start in July 2026.

Details for the duration available for other Tier 2 HPC services will be included in the service specification document under the ‘Additional information’ section. You should refer to the provisional service specification document under the ‘Additional information’ section to help you decide which service to apply to.

This document also has indicative levels of the computational resource available at each service, as well as service-specific restrictions on projects. Precise levels are subject to variations in the current usage of the services. We recommend that you contact the service you are applying to as soon as possible to discuss whether the level of resource you intend to request is realistic and reasonable.

A technical assessment from the service you are applying to will only be required should your application be successful. However final allocation of resources will be dependent on the Technical Assessment being approved by the service. We reserve the right to adjust the overall level of computational resource available and delay project start dates where circumstances require it.

Supporting skills and talent We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment . Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks. See further guidance and information about TR&I , including where applicants can find additional support.

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system. The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page. Confirm you are the project lead.

Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this Opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.

Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service.

All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office. Send the completed application to your research office for checking.

They will return it to you if it needs editing. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI. Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must: provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit) insert each new image onto a new line use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words.

The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include: sentences or paragraphs of text excessive quantities of images A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see: how applicants use the Funding Service how research offices use the Funding Service how reviewers use the Funding Service References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application. Hyperlinks can be used in reference information.

When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that: references are easily identifiable by the assessors references are formatted as appropriate to your research persistent identifiers are used where possible General use of hyperlinks Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information.

You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment . There is no requirement for match funding from the organisations hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the grant. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) advises reviewers and panel members not to consider the level of matched university funding as a factor on which to base funding decisions.

Project partners are expected to contribute to the project, either with cash or in-kind contributions. If there is a specific match funding requirement, this text should be replaced by a description of what match funding is needed. EPSRC must receive your application by 6 November 2025 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time. Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines. Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment.

If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected. If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the opportunity. EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice . If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email TFSchangeEPSRC@epsrc.

ukri. org Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include: individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave) additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection the application is an invited resubmission For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice .

Institutional matched funding There is no requirement for matched funding from the institution(s) hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond any 20% FEC contribution. UKRI advises reviewers and panel members not to consider the level of matched host institution funding as a factor on which to base funding recommendations.

Any project partners are expected to contribute to the project, either with cash or in-kind contributions. EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at EPSRC Funding Applications Outcomes If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research .

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application. We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information.

Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example: the wider research community Guidance for writing a summary Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of: the challenge the project addresses potential applications and benefits List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following: project co-lead (UK) (PcL) project co-lead (international) (PcL (I)) professional enabling staff research and innovation associate Only list one individual as project lead.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application. Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications .

Provide key words that describes your application. This is for administrative purposes to help the initial application processing, and for identifying introducers for your application. Please name which HPC service are you applying to.

The services available for this opportunity are: ARCHER2 (EPSRC remit only) other Tier-2 HPC services (UKRI remit): Baskerville, Bede, Cirrus, CSD3, Jade, NI-HPC, Sulis Please enter the quantity and units, for example compute units (CU), CPUh, GPUh, or Node-Hours (NH), of HPC resources that you are requesting.

High end computing (HEC) consortia If you are a member of a currently funded HEC consortium, and are applying for ARCHER2 compute, please enter the name of the consortium and briefly explain why you are not applying for time through this consortium. Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The maximum page limit, including references, is dependent on the level of resources requested as shown in the table below.

The document must be single spaced in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs, tables. You can have an additional page for a diagrammatic work plan detailing a timeline of work packages.

Please ensure you have provided the information requested in the bullet points listed in the criteria below. We will be unable to return applications for amendment so it is essential you include all the information requested, otherwise your application will not be able to be fully assessed and it will result in your application being rejected. Failure to keep within the page limit will result in applications being rejected.

Page limits, including references, for levels of resources requested: applications requesting <=300k CU, <=2M CPUh, <=50k GPUh, or <=200k NH: 2 sides of A4 applications requesting >300k and <=600k CU, >2M and <=5M CPUh, >50k and <=100k GPUh, or >200k NH and <=400k NH: 3 sides of A4 applications requesting >600k CU, >5M CPUh, >100k GPUh, or >400k NH: 4 sides of A4 For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.

Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment. If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response For the Vision, explain how your proposed work: is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s) has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area is timely given current trends, context and needs impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment Within the Vision section, we also expect you to identify the potential direct or indirect benefits and who the beneficiaries might be.

In addition, include how it would contribute to computational science, for example through generating new codes, developing existing codes, increasing computational efficiency, or opening up HPC for new scientific areas and industrial sectors.

For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it: is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed if applicable, uses a clear and transparent methodology if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place, and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work Within the Approach section we also expect you to: include details of the codes and methods to be used and clarification of how they are appropriate for the work being proposed References may be included within this section.

Applicant and team capability to deliver Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have: the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

Further details are provided in the Funding Service. The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI .

You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings: contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships contributions to the wider research and innovation community contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit Provide any further details relevant to your application.

This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them). Complete this as a narrative.

Do not format it like a CV. References may be included within this section. The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Computing resources and justification What computing resources will you need to deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response full justification of the resources requested and why you are requesting the specific system justification of why the computing time requested is essential for the successful completion of the project assurance that the resources requested are appropriate and justified Assessors are not looking for a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources.

Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work: are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes maximise potential outcomes and impacts Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities.

Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

Add the following project partner details: the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable) the project partner contact name and email address the type of contribution (direct or indirect) and its monetary value If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made. Project partners: letters (or emails) of support Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the Project Partner section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter ‘N/A’.

Each letter or email you provide should: confirm the partner’s commitment to the project clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them describe any additional value that they bring to the project the page limit is two sides of A4 per partner The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service. Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the project partners’ section. For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Do not provide letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations. Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated: the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations how you will manage these considerations Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) will be included in the Funding Service.

These will ask about numbers, species/strain and justification about: genetic and biological risk research involving the use of animals conducting research with animal overseas research involving human participation research involving human tissues or biological samples You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

How we will assess your application We will assess your application using the following process. We will convene an assessment panel, two of whom will serve as independent introducers for your application against the specified criteria for this opportunity.

Following the comments from the introducers, we will invite the panel to use the evidence provided by introducers to assess the quality of your application and rank it alongside other applications. Only projects that reach the cut-off threshold will be eligible to receive resources. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will make the final decision.

Successful applicants will be asked to contact the service desk of their preferred high performance computing service to conduct a technical assessment of their project before final sign-on to the service. We will not be providing application feedback. We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making . Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI . We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed. The assessment areas we will use are: applicant and team capability to deliver computing resources and justification ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Get help with your application If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page. The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue.

Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding Finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process. For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact researchinfrastructure@epsrc. ukri.

org Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk. Email: support@funding-service. ukri.

org Our phone lines are open: Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time. For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service .

Research and innovation impact Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population. Equality impact assessment (PDF, 159KB) Service specification document (PDF, 226KB) Webinar for potential applicants We held a webinar on 2 October 2025 from 11:00am to 12:00pm UK time.

This provided more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions. Webinar slides (PDF, 199KB) Webinar questions and answers (PDF, 96KB) Research disruption due to COVID-19 We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities.

We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as: disruptive working patterns and conditions role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application.

They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing. Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

Webinar slides and questions and answers document added under the 'Webinar for potential applicants' heading in the 'Additional info' section. Service specification document updated under the 'Supporting documents' heading in the 'Additional info' section. Updated service specification document, under 'additional info'.

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