Funding will be reinstated for a supercomputer at Edinburgh University after it was withdrawn last year in the Chancellor’s review of public finances.

Rachel Reeves is expected to announce the £750 million investment in today’s spending review as pat of an uplift in the allocation of funds to the technology and science sector.

Giviing the go-ahead to the UK’s most powerful computer is expected to give Edinburgh a central role in developing artificial intelligence for which it is already gaining an international standing.

Ms Reeves, who is also approving the carbon capture and storage project for north east Scotland, said: “Strong investment in our science and technology sector is part of our plan for change to kick-start economic growth, and as the home of the UK’s largest supercomputer, Scotland will be an integral part of that journey.”

Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson said: “This significant investment will have a profoundly positive impact on the UK’s global standing, and we welcome the vast opportunities it will create for research and innovation.

“Building on the University of Edinburgh’s expertise and experience over decades, this powerful supercomputer will drive economic growth by supporting advancements in medicine, bolstering emerging industries and public services, and unlocking the full potential of AI.”

The new supercomputer will vastly exceed the capacity of the UK’s current national supercomputer, ARCHER2. 

The government will set out more details about the system in its forthcoming Compute Roadmap, which it will publish this summer.

It will outline the government’s strategic approach to building world-class compute infrastructure in the UK – which will include the new national supercomputer in Edinburgh and investment to expand the AI Research Resource by at least 20 times by 2030. 

The government has said it will spend £86 billion on the science and technology sector by the end of this parliament as it looks to support the tech industries to boost economic growth.

It will fund research into drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries, and include up to £500 million for regions across the UK.

The sum of all government spending on “research and innovation” over four years and the annual spend will be £22.5 billion by 2029-30. This represents a 3% real terms rise in the budget in 2029-30 compared with the present financial year.