The European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned OVHcloud and CGI to build a new infrastructure for processing European Earth observation data. The platform will combine storage, computing power, and AI capabilities and will be distributed across multiple European countries.
Reuters reported this based on statements from OVHcloud and CGI. The project, named Digital EO, is intended to make the growing volume of data from European Earth observation satellites more accessible. ESA expects the amount of stored data to exceed 500 petabytes by 2035.
To achieve this, existing European and national infrastructures will be integrated into a new environment where data can be stored, processed, and analyzed in real time. Researchers, government organizations, and companies will gain access to computing power and AI tools.
Infrastructure remains in Europe
OVHcloud is providing the cloud infrastructure for the project, including compute, storage, and network capacity. CGI will design and integrate the platform. The agreement has a term of thirty months. The parties are not disclosing the exact financial details, except to say that the amount involves several million euros.
The physical infrastructure will be located in Italy, France, and Germany. Support will be provided from Poland. Among other things, Digital EO is tasked with making data available to Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation program, and DestinE. The latter project is working on a digital twin of the Earth that can be used, among other things, to simulate climate and environmental scenarios.
The decision to select two European suppliers is part of a broader movement to make strategic digital infrastructure less dependent on non-European technology companies. Earlier this year, the European Commission awarded a 180-million-euro cloud contract exclusively to four European providers. OVHcloud CEO Octave Klaba emphasizes that, in his view, Europe must retain control over the infrastructure on which strategic programs run.
ESA modernizes satellite data processing
Digital EO does not stand alone. ESA is also working on separate Earth observation infrastructure that prioritizes security for European governments. Earlier this month, teams led by Finland’s ICEYE and Italy’s Leonardo were awarded research contracts for this purpose.
In doing so, ESA is simultaneously exploring various ways to store, process, and make available the rapidly growing stream of satellite data within Europe. Digital EO specifically focuses on combining cloud capacity and AI to analyze that data.