VA: The U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility today marked the ceremonial start of construction for the Jefferson Lab Data Center a new building situated on the national laboratory’s Newport News campus that will serve as the future home of DOE’s High Performance Data Facility (HPDF).
Darío Gil, the DOE’s Under Secretary for Science, joined other distinguished guests at the groundbreaking event following a tour of the lab’s accelerator and research facilities, where he met with researchers and engaged with staff and scientific users.
“AI, advanced computing, and the experimental facilities and instruments of our National Laboratories are converging to change how discovery happens,” Gil said.
“This High Performance Data Facility is where that convergence takes physical form: the place where our data, instruments, and computing meet and become usable to researchers nationwide. Breaking ground on it marks a major step forward for the Genesis Mission.”
The ceremony was attended by federal, state and local leaders, including Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, U.S. Senator Mark Warner, U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott and Rob Wittman, and City of Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones, along with DOE and Jefferson Lab leadership.
“Today’s groundbreaking represents more than a new building; it marks an important investment in the future of scientific discovery,” Laboratory Director Jens Dilling said.
“The Jefferson Lab Data Center is purpose-built to support the advanced computing, data and AI capabilities that modern science increasingly demands. As the future home of the High Performance Data Facility, this facility will help researchers across the Department of Energy harness the power of data to accelerate breakthroughs and strengthen America’s scientific leadership.”
Backed by a major investment from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the JLDC represents a significant step forward in building the infrastructure needed to accelerate discovery through advanced data, networking and artificial intelligence.
The approximately 30,000-square-foot facility will be purpose-built to support high-performance computing and data services for scientific research. The building will include a roughly 10,000-square-foot data hall, 10,000 square feet dedicated to support infrastructure equipment, and a dedicated facility computing space to support HPDF operations.
Unlike large-scale commercial data centers, the JLDC is right sized for science and designed specifically for high performance scientific workloads and data stewardship rather than broad consumer cloud services.
Once construction is complete, the building will house and enable the future HPDF, a first-of-its-kind scientific user facility focused on advanced data analysis, networking, storage and AI-enabled discovery. In October 2023, DOE awarded the HPDF project to Jefferson Lab in partnership Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The project is foundational infrastructure for the broader Genesis Mission, an all-of-government effort that DOE is leading to advance priorities in AI for science and energy. HPDF will be designed to transform how scientific data is accessed, analyzed and shared across the DOE complex, supporting real-time data streaming and AI applications across all DOE Office of Science programs and future Genesis Mission research teams.
The project also reflects a strong federal-state-local partnership model, combining national research priorities with regional investment and economic development.
The ceremony marked the Commonwealth of Virginia’s continued investment in SURATech – composed of the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) and Virginia Tech – and the advancement of the JLDC under the new management and operating contract.
“This milestone reflects the Commonwealth’s investment in the future of Jefferson Lab and our shared commitment to positioning Virginia at the forefront of advanced computing, AI, and scientific innovation,” said SURA President & Chief Executive Officer Sean Hearne.
Said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands:
“We look forward to bringing expertise in science, engineering, and computing from Virginia Tech, as well as the combined strengths of eight other Virginia universities who will anchor the newly created Spark Institute to support Jefferson Lab’s national priorities and mission. Together we will build on the lab’s legacy of accelerating discovery to benefit society, while moving the Commonwealth forward as a national leader in artificial intelligence, data science, and quantum information.”
The event leads the transition into the project’s next phase, including planning, engineering and infrastructure development activities.
The Commonwealth of Virginia committed $43.3 million, alongside $6 million in seed funding to design and construct the facility. That investment, coupled with federal leadership and support from the City of Newport News, underscores a shared commitment to building next-generation research infrastructure.
“Today, we begin writing the next chapter in Virginia’s long history in support of the groundbreaking work at Jefferson Lab,” Governor Abigail Spanberger said. “Our Commonwealth is proud to be home to this world-class research lab, and we look forward to its exciting future as we celebrate the new Jefferson Lab Data Center, the future home of the High Performance Data Facility.”
The JLDC milestone is part of a broader campus modernization effort underway across Jefferson Lab, reinforcing its role as a leader in nuclear physics, accelerator science and emerging data-intensive research. By integrating advanced computing infrastructure directly into the campus, the lab is positioning itself to meet growing national demands for data, connectivity and AI-enabled discovery.
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