Trust-IT leading the implementation of Blue-Cloud, a ground-breaking project piloting innovative services for Marine Research & the Blue Economy

Blue-Cloud, the recently funded European H2020 project aiming to federate and pilot innovative services for Marine Research & the Blue Economy, officially kicked-off – or, better said, set sail – in Pisa on 2-4 October 2019.

Captained by Trust-IT, Blue-Cloud will last three years and is recognised across the board as a Flagship project for the European Commission.

The former Maritime Republic of Pisa, Italy, also hosting Trust-IT’s Italian offices and the CNR unit collaborating in the project, was the perfect place to start this challenging adventure. The 3-day meeting involving representatives from the 20 partner organisations took place in the lovely historical Domus Comeliana, an ancient villa just beneath the famous leaning tower of Pisa, to then close on the last day in the Macc (Meeting Art & Craft Center).

A thematic Cloud for Marine and Blue data and services

Blue-Cloud is a flagship EU initiative that addresses the urgent contemporary challenges related to the future of the seas and oceans. The project holds great potential to deliver societal solutions via the implementation of five innovative demonstrators, covering specific domains like biodiversity and genomics, environment, fisheries and aquaculture

Through a smart federation of data resources, computing platforms, and analytical services Blue-Cloud aims to provide researchers with access to:

• Blue multi-disciplinary data from observations, in-situ and remote sensing, data products and outputs of numerical models, and
• A blue Virtual Research Environment (VRE) with various services to support its users in undertaking world class science

Furthermore, Blue-Cloud will also elaborate and pilot the organisational and technical framework for a so called “thematic cloud” as envisioned in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) strategy.

Reusing assets from the past to face present and future challenges

Overall, the project will not start from scratch, but instead capitalise on already existing infrastructures and resources, connecting and integrating a variety of data infrastructures.

Needless to say, expectations are very high already, but the project has started from solid foundations and fundamental past experiences. In fact, it would be challenging to think of a better consortium to achieve the Blue-Cloud objectives. The 20 partners participating in Blue-Cloud bring together leading European marine data management infrastructures, EOSC horizontal e-infrastructures, and top-level marine researchers.

Trust-IT, coordinating the project, will ensure trust and fairness in carrying out its role, bringing on board its extensive expertise in ICT and communications, together with past experiences in the BlueBRIDGE project and current involvement in many EOSC-related projects. Alongside us, MARIS,a community leading marine & ocean data specialist organisation, will act as a technical coordinator.

A Blue-Cloud roadmap for the future of the seas and oceans (and data)

By the end of the project Blue-Cloud will also deliver a co-designed, community-oriented Blue Cloud Roadmap for the long-term, strategic development of the Blue Cloud as a leading component of EOSC and of the future “Blue” Work Programmes. 
The development of the roadmap has started right from day one of the project and will foresee a wide public consultation with the relevant stakeholders. 

Follow our Blue Community & join the flow

@BlueCloudEU

company/blue-cloud-org

 Blue-Cloud has received funding from the European Union's Horizon programme call BG-07-2019-2020, topic: [A] 2019 - Blue Cloud services, Grant Agreement n.862409.