IBM said its contributions to the project would include basing at least 24 researchers at the centre; offering access to the latest data-centric and cognitive computing technologies; and undertaking joint commercialisation of intellectual property assets produced in partnership with the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Science minister Jo Johnson said: "We live in an information economy – from the smart devices we use every day to the super-computers that helped find the Higgs Boson, the power of advanced computing means we now have access to vast amounts of data.

"This partnership with IBM, which builds on our £113m investment to expand the Hartree Centre, will help businesses make the best use of Big Data to develop better products and services that will boost productivity, drive growth and create jobs."

David Stokes, chief executive for IBM in the UK and Ireland, added: "The expansion of our collaboration with STFC builds upon Hartree's successful engagement with industry and its record in commercialising technological developments, and provides a world-class environment using Watson and OpenPOWER technologies to extend the boundaries of Big Data and cognitive computing."

The Hartree Centre is already helping businesses like Unilever and Glaxo SmithKline use high performance computing to improve the stability of home products such as fabric softeners and to pinpoint links between genes and diseases.