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NG-R2C - GC-Faster

Met Office

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

23 Oct 2026 at 14:49

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

22 Oct 2026 at 14:11

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Met Office commissioned research services to optimise the UK Chemistry and Aerosols (UKCA) component of the UK Earth System Model (UKESM). The work, titled NG-R2C – GC-Faster, focuses on moving UKCA from double to single numerical precision to reduce computing costs and increase model speed. UKCA supports the Met Office’s weather and climate modelling, and the work contributes to its Next Generation Modelling Systems programme and preparation of a new Momentum-based UKESM configuration. The University of Cambridge is the UKCA chemistry development centre and has contributed model developments and international model comparison work. The work is for the Met Office, with delivery specified in the United Kingdom.

The procurement is complete: the University of Cambridge was selected and the contract was signed on 21 October 2026. The Met Office used a direct award below the applicable threshold, without competition. The award value is £92,315.10 excluding VAT (£110,778 including VAT). The contract runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027. The procurement was arranged as one lot. The stated purpose is to improve UKCA’s computational efficiency by implementing single precision; no detailed scoring criteria are set out in the available procurement data.

This award shows demand for specialist climate-model research and software development within the Met Office’s UKESM and Next Generation Modelling Systems work. A credible competitor for a similar requirement would need deep expertise in the UKCA chemistry component and the ability to modify and optimise Earth system model code, particularly numerical precision, performance and computational cost. Experience contributing working model developments and functionality would be relevant, as would a record of supporting international model intercomparison exercises. Suppliers would need to understand how UKCA integrates with UKESM and the Met Office’s planned Momentum-based configuration, and be able to deliver focused technical work within a short project period. The buyer selected the University of Cambridge through a non-competitive direct award, reflecting the specialist knowledge and established contribution described for this requirement.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

NG-R2C - GC-Faster

Notice Description

The University of Cambridge is the leading development centre for the chemistry component of the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols (UKCA) model, a key component of the Met Office's collaboratively developed UK Earth System Model (UKESM). The University have contributed significantly to international model intercomparison exercises using UKCA and UKESM. They have regularly contributed new model developments and functionality to UKCA. Next Generation Research to Climate (NG-R2C) is a component project within the Met Office's Next Generation Modelling Systems (NGMS) Programme. The Programme's aim is to reformulate and redesign our complete weather and climate research and operational/ production systems, including oceans and the environment, to allow us to fully exploit future generations of supercomputer for the benefits of society. Preparation of our new Momentum(r)-based UKESM configuration is a key outcome in the Met Office's corporate strategy and accompanying Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). The need to reduce the compute cost and increase the speed of our weather and climate models is stronger than ever. Reducing numerical precision from double precision to single precision offers a promising route to significantly reducing the computational cost of Earth System Models, and single precision implementations of Momentum model components are roughly 30% quicker than their double precision counterparts. UKCA remains one of the major model components operating in double precision, making it an attractive target for optimisation.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100594-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - without competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

73110000 - Research services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£92,315 Under £100K
Contracts Value
£92,315 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Oct 20263 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Met Office
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EXETER
Postcode
EX1 3PB
Postcode Area
Exeter
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK4 Devon
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK43 Devon CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Exeter
Electoral Ward
Pinhoe
Westminster Constituency
Exmouth and Exeter East

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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