Monday, November 10, 2025
The University of Waterloo has unveiled Nibi, a high-performance supercomputer designed to accelerate research on environmental challenges such as flooding, drought, watershed management and climate change.
The $50-million system, housed in the university’s Mathematics and Computer building, represents a major leap in computing power and sustainability. Funded through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, and Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, Nibi delivers four times the performance of its predecessor, Graham.
The name Nibi—meaning “water” in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe)—reflects both its advanced liquid-cooling system and the essential role of water in life and research. It is Canada’s first immersion-cooled supercomputer, capturing nearly all of its heat and recycling it to warm the nearby Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre. A closed-loop water system further reduces its environmental footprint.
“By deploying Canada’s first Granite Rapids HPC cluster in immersion and integrating heat reuse, we’re not just pushing the boundaries of high-performance computing—we are setting a new benchmark for sustainable research infrastructure,” said John Morton, Director of Technology at SHARCNET, the consortium that connects 19 academic institutions across Ontario.
With all-flash storage, tightly coupled GPUs, and expanded computing capacity, Nibi will allow researchers to run more complex models and simulations faster and more efficiently. Academic users across Canada can access the system for free through the Alliance network, with up to 40 terabytes of storage available.
The new system is expected to play a key role in advancing research in hydrology, climate science and environmental sustainability.
Featured image: University of Waterloo
