NG-LFRic Project: LFRic Modelling Code Computational Performance Optimisation and Input/Output API infrastructure functionality development in XIOS - Third Procurement Stage Oct 2026 - March 2028

As the Met Office's next-generation weather forecasting capability, Momentum, moves towards operational implementation, it is essential to build on the foundations established through the Next Generation Modelling Systems (NGMS) Programme, including the Next Generation Architectures (NG-ARCH) and LFRic Infrastructure (NG-LFRic) projects. This work will focus on optimising operational model performance to achieve target resolutions while sustaining a full scientific workload. Initially, efforts will concentrate on the C896 configuration (10 km resolution, 10,000+ cores) with full physics and a realistic diagnostic workload. In parallel, we will investigate the performance and scalability of kilometre-scale regional configurations to support future operational requirements. Following on from the work undertaken on the Initial NG-LFRic project, the Met Office is looking to perform additional LFRic Modelling Code Computational Performance Optimisation, broken down into the cost of the time-step and the initialisation using tools such as CrayPAT and Vernier on HPE AMD systems for key model configurations such as the global 10km C896 model.