ESA awards Digital EO contract to OVHcloud and CGI

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a 30-month contract to OVHcloud and CGI to design and deploy the Digital Earth Observation (Digital EO) infrastructure. Valued at several million euros, the project aims to create a decentralized, scalable, and resilient digital backbone for processing and storing Earth observation data.

The platform is expected to manage over 500 petabytes of heterogeneous satellite data by 2035. It will integrate high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and cloud services to support scientific, public, and commercial applications. The system is designed to feed major European programs, including Copernicus and the Destination Earth (DestinE) digital twin initiative.

OVHcloud will provide the sovereign cloud foundation, including storage, networking, and managed services. CGI will serve as the architect and integrator, managing data resources, cybersecurity, and user community support. The infrastructure will initially be deployed across Italy, France, and Germany, with operational support from Poland, and may eventually expand to other European nations and Canada.