We discuss our new implementation of the Real-space Electronic Structure method for studying the atomic and electronic structure of infinite periodic as well as finite systems, based on density functional theory. This improved version which we call HARES (for High-performance-fortran Adaptive grid Real-space Electronic Structure) aims at making the method widely applicable and efficient, using high performance Fortran on parallel architectures. The scaling of various parts of a HARES calculation is analyzed and compared to that of plane-wave based methods. The new developments that lead to enhanced performance, and their parallel implementation, are presented in detail. We illustrate the application of HARES to the study of elemental crystalline solids, molecules and complex crystalline materials, such as blue bronze and zeolites.

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