We are excited to present the latest chapter in the C-SCALE project’s journey—the C-SCALE Project Blueprint, Business and Sustainability Plan v2.0. Building upon the foundation laid out in v1, this deliverable offers an even deeper insight into the project’s blueprint and its implications for Earth Observation (EO) and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

In D5.4 Blueprint, business and sustainability plan v1, we introduced the C-SCALE federation—a visionary concept aimed at transforming large-scale research in EO. It provided an overview of the blueprint, engagement model, and joining procedures for this federation. It showcased how C-SCALE could revolutionise research, foster collaboration, and drive innovation within the EOSC ecosystem.

C-SCALE’s core mission revolved around creating a federated data and compute environment tailored for large-scale EO research. This includes harnessing Copernicus and related EO data to facilitate open, repeatable research and integrating cross-disciplinary EOSC services. Our goal was to make EO data more accessible, encourage cross-pollination of services, and create a rich tapestry of resources for diverse research communities.

Building the Federation

The C-SCALE federation welcomed providers to join and expand its distributed setup. We have embraced widely-used technologies like Slurm for High-Throughput Computing (HTC)/High-Performance Computing (HPC), OpenStack for Cloud, and openEO or Jupyter Notebooks as user-friendly environments to lower the barrier to Copernicus data access. This approach opened doors to neighbouring research domains and promoted the exchange of services and resources.

Expanding the Horizons

Our vision encompassed two essential components:

• C-SCALE Compute Federation: Offering distributed infrastructure for data- and compute-intensive workloads, including cloud and HPC/HTC resources.
• C-SCALE Data Federation: Bringing together Copernicus data providers from different ecosystems and providing a unified interface for querying and accessing datasets.

We have worked diligently to ensure the interoperability between the Data and Compute federations. This enables seamless user interactions and automated workflows, which have been rigorously tested and validated across various use cases.

Key Exploitable Results (KERs)

The heart of this deliverable lies in our KERs—the services, workflows, software, and support materials that have sprung from the C-SCALE Federation. Each service has its user blueprint, guiding its flow and functionality. Our exploitation plans are robust, aiming to catapult these results into the future of EO research.

Sustainability Matters

Sustainability is a core principle. We’ve secured Letters of Commitment from service providers and ensured well-defined ownership structures. Workflows and support materials are open-source, fostering widespread adoption. Beyond this, our impact is already evident in the broader reach of EGI compute services within the EO community.

Shaping the Future

As we unveil the C-SCALE Project Blueprint 2.0, we are not just presenting a document; we are presenting a vision for a future where Earth Observation fuels scientific advancement, economic prosperity, and societal well-being.