---
title: "NG-R2C - GC-Faster"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Met Office"
published: "2026-10-23"
---

# NG-R2C - GC-Faster

Buyer: Met Office  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb

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## Summary

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.

## Notice

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100594-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £92,315 |
| Contracts value | £92,315 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Met Office |
| Locality | EXETER |
| Postcode area | Exeter |
| Postcode | EX1 3PB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon |
| ITL 3 | TLK43 Devon CC |
| Local authority | Exeter |
| Electoral ward | Pinhoe |
| Westminster constituency | Exmouth and Exeter East |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73110000 - Research services

## Release History

- 23 Oct 2026 at 14:49 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100594-2026
- 22 Oct 2026 at 14:11 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100015-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100594-2026
  23rd October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100015-2026
  22nd October 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-24612
  Redacted contract

## Notice URLs

- https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078dfb.json.