Serco and OVHcloud to power ESA’s DestinE platform

Image courtesy Serco

Leveraging cutting-edge technologies including Artificial Intelligence, the platform improves the use of data obtained from Earth Observation through Digital Twins acting as advanced models that replicate environmental systems to assist in the adaptation to climate change.

The Destination Earth initiative sponsored by the European Commission has been assigned to three agencies representing European excellence in the field: the European Space Agency (ESA), responsible of the platform, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

The DestinE Platform plays a crucial role in this historical moment, supporting the European Commission in achieving sustainable development goals and directly contributing to the European Green Deal and the Digital Strategy.

DestinE platform now live
The DestinE Platform is now open to users. One of the ambitious goals of the DestinE platform is to create an accurate digital twin of planet Earth. This tool is designed to monitor and simulate the effects of natural phenomena and human activity, while providing accurate and timely information on multi-decade scale projections, high-resolution forecasts and on-demand simulations. These data support the design of adaptation strategies and promote the adoption of targeted policies to address climate challenges.

As part of the DestinE platform, the European Space Agency needs solutions to enable the processing of vast amounts of data, constantly working to optimize the process. Using state-of-the-art data management and processing technologies, robust security measures and built-in flexibility for easy scalability, OVHcloud’s PaaS solutions support the DestinE platform in processing satellite data and digital climate models.

The following services are used to answer the specific needs of the platform:

• Latest-generation CPUs and GPUs that meet various data analysis needs, including the most demanding artificial intelligence algorithms.
• Managed orchestration services such as Kubernetes and Rancher, enabling the creation of complex microservices architectures.
• A broad portfolio of managed databases to support multiple types of data (structured, unstructured and time series.)

Furthermore, OVHcloud’s commitment to data sovereignty ensures the implementation of European data privacy and security principles within the DestinE platform, creating an ultra-secure and responsible digital environment.

The project deployment also aligns seamlessly with OVHcloud’s long-standing commitment to sustainable innovation, embodied in its core values, such as watercooling, which has enabled the European cloud player to achieve industry-leading levels of energy efficiency (PUE 1.26) and water usage effectiveness (WUE 0.37) for data centres.

Leveraging its extensive experience in providing services to international institutions in the space sector, Serco leads the industrial consortium responsible for the development and implementation of the DestinE platform. The company plays a central role in the collaborative ecosystem, which is at the heart of the platform, as well as providing support to the user community and managing the integration of external services and applications.

Serco’s responsibilities include the design, maintenance and continuous evolution of the platform, ensuring ongoing improvements to maximise functionality and enhance performance. With its continuous commitment to adopting advanced technologies, Serco is dedicated to promoting innovative solutions that align with the strategic goals of the DestinE initiative, fostering a positive impact on the future.

Caroline Comet Fraigneau, Chief Sales Officer at OVHcloud, said: "We are proud to support the DestinE Platform project alongside our partner Serco and to actively contribute to tackling the many challenges of climate change. Today, we celebrate a partnership built on mutual trust that has significantly evolved into a deeply strategic collaboration. We are proud to deliver high levels of innovation, autonomy, and sovereignty to this historic initiative. By combining the performance, flexibility, and scalability of cloud solutions, this partnership sets a new standard for excellence."

Guido Vingione, Business Development Director, Space at Serco Europe, added: "We are excited to continue this collaboration with OVHcloud as part of the expansion of the DestinE Platform. This project represents a key step toward innovation and sustainability, enabling us to tackle the challenges of climate change with advanced tools. Through this synergy, we combine expertise and cutting-edge technologies to ensure a resilient, flexible, and high-performance infrastructure. Our partnership is based on a shared vision of excellence and technological autonomy, and we are proud to contribute to such a strategically significant initiative for Europe’s digital future."