EGI to Strengthen Transnational Open Science as a Candidate EOSC Node
AMSTERDAM, April 2026 – The EGI Federation has achieved a significant milestone in its mission to support European research with the successful evaluation of its proposal to become a candidate Node of the EOSC Federation.
The EOSC Federation is a "system of systems" designed to enable researchers across Europe to seamlessly store, share, process, and reuse research digital objects, such as data and software. As a future EOSC Node, EGI will serve as a new additional channel towards research communities, facilitating EGI collaboration with new providers, and opening EGI to new technical and scientific collaborations.
“This step on the path to becoming a Node in the EOSC Federation fits perfectly within our Strategy for 2026-2030. As an official candidate EOSC Node, the Node proposed by EGI is a collaborative effort of EGI participants and partner organisations. It will act as an additional channel to engage new research communities. It will also foster collaboration with new providers at both national and European levels, opening EGI to expanded technical and scientific partnerships. This complements the contributions of EGI members and partners to other nodes, seeing the involvement of CERN, Croatia, Czechia, ENVRI RIs, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the Republic of North Macedonia, SeaDataNet - European DTO, Slovenia, Turkey, and the UK.” Tiziana Ferrari, EGI Foundation Director
Strengthening the Federation’s Core
The enrolment of EGI’s services and resources is a testament to our organisation's long-standing commitment to interoperable research infrastructures and to our leading role in successful ongoing projects such as EOSC Beyond (working on the next generation of EOSC Core capabilities) and EOSC Data Commons (focussing on improved research data discovery, access, and reuse).
"We are honoured to have the EGI application approved as a candidate EOSC Node. This achievement is the result of an intensive coordination effort across our federation. It ensures that the EGI Federation's world-class computing and data services are fully integrated into the EOSC landscape. EGI will set up a Node for data-intensive computing and large-scale research data exploitation, providing researchers with seamless, cross-border access to FAIR data, advanced analytics, and interoperable digital research services to tackle global challenges." Diego Scardaci, Technical Solutions Lead at the EGI Foundation and coordinator of the submission
The candidate EOSC Node coordinated by EGI is designed to bridge critical gaps in advanced computing and large-scale data hosting.
- The node will improve access to large datasets, AI/ML models, and scalable HTC, HPC, and cloud resources. This enables researchers to process complex datasets across disciplines through a combination of different computing platforms, increasing the exploitation of publicly funded research data.
- The node will act as a gateway for research communities and will provide hosting capabilities to providers such as National Grid Initiatives (NGIs) and research infrastructures, facilitating the process of entering the EOSC Federation.
- Leveraging EGI Foundation’s experience in operating the world’s largest distributed e-infrastructure for research, the node will deliver essential federating core functions such as Trust and Identity Management, Service Catalogues, Monitoring, and Accounting. These capabilities, offered as a managed service, will complement the EOSC EU Node and will establish EGI as a federation provider to other nodes.
- Beyond the immediate research community, EGI is bridging the gap between EOSC and other European initiatives, such as the Green Deal Data Space. This ensures that the EOSC Federation is not an isolated silo but a central component of the broader European data landscape, reinforcing its role as the transverse European research and innovation data space.
The Road Ahead
The enrolment process towards becoming an EOSC Node is expected to take several months. Once successfully concluded, EGI will work alongside the EOSC EU Node and other thematic and national Nodes to define the operational future of the EOSC Federation. EGI’s role will include contributing to scientific multi-node use cases and ensuring technical alignment with mandatory specifications, such as the EOSC Federated AAI.
"This achievement ensures that EGI remains at the forefront of the digital transformation of European science, fostering a connected and FAIR-compliant research data space also after the end of Horizon Europe in 2027." Dale Robertson, Strategy and Innovation Lead and EOSC Liaison Manager at the EGI Foundation
Following the announcement of the results this April, the EGI team will participate in a kick-off meeting in May 2026 to begin the formal enrolment and implementation stages.
The project will involve a dedicated team of experts covering coordination, operations, legal, cybersecurity, and communications to ensure the node’s long-term success and integration.
