Mexico to Unleash “Coatlicue,” Latin America’s Most Powerful Supercomputer
Mexico is poised to become a regional leader in high-performance computing with the development of “Coatlicue,” a supercomputer projected to be the most powerful of its kind in Latin America. The project, representing a 6 billion peso (approximately $330 million USD) investment, was announced by officials from the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency (ATDT) and President Claudia Sheinbaum.
A National Resource for the 21st Century
The ambitious undertaking aims to create a publicly accessible resource for tackling complex national challenges, rather than limiting advanced computing power to private sector interests. As one senior official stated, Coatlicue is intended to be a supercomputer “for the people of Mexico.” The system will boast approximately 14,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) and the capacity to perform 314,000 trillion operations, equivalent to between 375,000 and 400,000 conventional computers working in unison.
Power and Performance Specifications
Coatlicue is expected to achieve a performance level of 314 petaflops – 314,000 billion operations per second – thanks to the deployment of around 14,480 GPUs distributed across roughly 7,500 chassis. These components will be housed within approximately 200 cabinets, necessitating significant infrastructure for electrical power, water cooling, and high-speed connectivity. The location for this massive infrastructure will be determined collegially in January 2026, taking into account the substantial energy and cooling demands.
Strategic Applications Across Key Sectors
The Mexican government envisions a broad range of applications for Coatlicue, extending far beyond basic research. Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is identified as a key strategic user, planning to leverage the supercomputer’s capabilities to analyze vast datasets of seismic and geological information, ultimately improving the precision of oil field exploration. Currently, the most powerful supercomputer in the region is operated by a Brazilian oil company; Mexico aims to surpass this capacity and dedicate it to national interests.
However, the impact won’t be limited to the energy sector. Officials highlighted potential improvements in:
- Weather Prediction: More accurate forecasting of weather patterns.
- Water Management: Enhanced assessment of surface and groundwater availability.
- Food Security: Optimized planning for sowing and harvesting to bolster national food sovereignty.
- Energy Modeling: Simulation of energy consumption scenarios.
- Financial Integrity: Detection of tax evasion and corrupt practices through analysis of administrative data, such as invoices and customs records.
- Public Health: Accelerated analysis of clinical and epidemiological databases.
“The level of global scientific production is already measured in millions of articles and data sets that it is humanly impossible to process without this type of infrastructure,” noted Rosaura Ruiz Gutierrez, Secretary of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (SECIHTI).
Building a National Supercomputing Ecosystem
Coatlicue will serve as the central node of the National Supercomputing Cluster, integrating existing university and public supercomputers like Yuca (University of Sonora), Leo-Átrox (University of Guadalajara), Xiuhcóatl and Abacus (Cinvestav), and Miztli (UNAM). This existing network, currently delivering 9.45 petaflops of computing capacity and over 10,000 terabytes of storage, will be further strengthened by Coatlicue’s addition. The cluster’s nodes are interconnected via connections ranging from 1 to 10 gigabits per second, with links to international academic networks like RedCLARA and Internet2. The SECIHTI plans to enhance these connections to facilitate remote access to intensive computing services for universities, research centers, and federal agencies nationwide.
Project Timeline and International Collaboration
The construction of Coatlicue is scheduled to take 24 months, encompassing conceptual planning, detailed engineering, civil works, equipment procurement, integration, testing, and commissioning. A board of directors, jointly led by the ATDT and SECIHTI, will establish access policies and infrastructure renewal strategies.
To accelerate the project and build local expertise, the Mexican government has forged partnerships with international leaders in supercomputing. An agreement with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center will prioritize project processing and provide training for Mexican specialists. Additionally, India’s Center for the Development of Advanced Computing will offer technical support.
The ultimate goal, officials emphasize, is not only to possess the most powerful supercomputer in Latin America but also to cultivate the human capital necessary to harness its potential for scientific advancement, industrial innovation, and informed public policy decisions in Mexico.
