Construction is underway on NETL’s Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Center in Morgantown, West Virginia — a state-of-the-art facility for advanced data and computing solutions related to applied energy challenges.

The CSE project is the largest construction project at NETL in more than a decade. The 14,000 square foot center will include expansion space for the Wafer-Scale Engine (WSE) computing technology, a visualization center, collaboration space and a server hall to house NETL’s enterprise computing assets including current and future generations of its high-performance supercomputer called Joule. It will consolidate data centers at the Morgantown Campus into a single facility and allow decommissioning of less-efficient data center space.

The CSE facility supports U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research initiatives and its goal to expand American energy, including by increasing coal production, supporting high-paying mining jobs, and strengthening U.S. energy independence. 

The WSE is a critical piece of the new facility and was created by artificial intelligence hardware manufacturer, Cerebras Systems. The WSE takes the power of a supercomputer and reduces it to a single chip — the largest single computer chip produced in the world to date. NETL has been working with Cerebras Systems to tap into the transformative computing power by developing a simple user interface for solving field equations.

The WSE and other computational advantages that the CSE will house bring the potential to revolutionize computing while greatly reducing energy consumption. The user interface will offer 470 times faster processing than traditional resources. That increased speed will reduce the running time for some research models from about a year to less than a day. In addition, the WSE achieves these step-change increases while using far less energy than traditional computing methods.

CSE is a core competency at NETL that is required for solving scientific and technical problems in energy technology development for DOE. NETL’s CSE competency has been recognized for its ability to develop science-based simulation models, mathematical methods and algorithms, and software tools required to address the technical barriers in the development of next-generation energy technologies.

Expansion of NETL’s CSE competency will enable faster discovery of advanced materials such as alloys and sorbents, enabling researchers to solve complex multiphase flow problems, and providing tools to design efficient fossil energy reactors.  

NETL is a DOE national laboratory dedicated to advancing the nation's energy future by creating innovative solutions that strengthen the security, affordability and reliability of energy systems and natural resources. With laboratories in Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, NETL creates advanced energy technologies that support DOE’s mission while fostering collaborations that will lead to a resilient and abundant energy future for the nation.