From Blue-Cloud to the EOSC Node | European Digital Twin Ocean - Blue-Cloud 2026 Conference
Blue-Cloud Event
28 May 2026 09:00–19:30
Comet Louise, Brussels (Belgium) - Place Stéphanie 20, 1050 Bruxelles
Europe’s ambition to restore and protect its oceans and waters relies increasingly on open, interoperable, and trusted digital infrastructures capable of transforming data into actionable knowledge.
Over the past years, Blue-Cloud has played a foundational role in federating marine and environmental data, services, and analytical tools across Europe. Through close alignment with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), Blue-Cloud has demonstrated how cloud-based, open science environments can support ocean research, innovation, and policy making.
This work directly contributes to the objectives of the EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters, the EU Digital Twin of the Ocean (including EDITO, its core public infrastructure), and the UN Ocean Decade, by enabling data-driven solutions for ocean sustainability.
As Blue-Cloud 2026 reaches its conclusion, the project hands over a mature, policy-aligned digital legacy: the EOSC Node | European Digital Twin Ocean, is progressing towards operational integration within the EOSC Federation.
Participants will leave with first-hand experience of the EOSC Node European Digital Twin Ocean, insights into Blue-Cloud’s legacy, and a clear view of Europe’s path toward a federated, policy-aligned digital ocean ecosystem, aligned with the goals of EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters, the EDITO, and the UN Ocean Decade.
The Final Conference comes after the Blue-Cloud General Assembly and consortium meeting scheduled on May 26 and 27. Learn more here.
Call for posters
The call for posters has closed. Thank you to all who submitted their poster. Looking forward to seeing you in Brussels!
Agenda
Master of Ceremony: Sara Pittonet, Blue-Cloud 2026 Project Coordinator
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
| 08:00 - 09:00 | Welcome Coffee | |
| 09:00 - 10:30 | Opening | |
| 09:00 - 09:30 |
Official messages from EC The European marine knowledge landscape: Relevant policy developments and evolution 2023-2026 |
Nicolas Segebarth, DG RTD Ana Teresa Maia Mota, DG RTD Zoi Konstantinou, DG MARE |
| Short video: From Blue-Cloud to EOSC Node | European Digital Twin Ocean | ||
| 09:30 - 10:30 |
Presentation session Building a federated digital ecosystem in support of Mission “Ocean & Waters” into EOSC
Sara Pittonet, Blue-Cloud 2026 Project Coordinator - Moderator |
Pasquale Pagano, CNR-ISTI, Coordinator of the Blue-Cloud 2026 project and of the EOSC Node | European DTO Sara Garavelli, CSC, EOSC Board of Directors Mario Reale, EOSC Technical Coordinator Jonathan Tedds, ELIXIR Programme Manager for Scientific Computing Conor Delaney, EMODnet technical coordinator Marina Tonani, Mercator Ocean International, EDITO |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Coffee Break and Poster session | |
| 11:00 - 13:00 |
EOSC Node | European Digital Twin Ocean in action, part 1 |
|
| 11:00 - 13:00 |
Mixed sessions with presentations, panel discussions, demos Marine thematic services: Virtual Labs & Workbenches
Marine Vernet, IFREMER - Moderator |
Cyrielle Delvenne, VLIZ Simona Simoncelli, INGV Nydia Catalina Reyes Suarez, OGS João Vitorino, Instituto Hidrográfico Francesco Palermo, CMCC Julien Barde, IRD France Maria del Mar Roca, CSIC Thomas Mansfield, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Benjamin O'Driscoll, Plymouth Marine Laboratory |
| 13:00 - 14:30 | Group Photo, Lunch & Poster session | |
| 14:30 - 16:30 | EOSC Node | European Digital Twin Ocean in action, part 2 | |
| 14:30 - 15:30 |
Panel discussion A federated digital research environment in support of European Research
Rita Giuffrida, Trust-IT Services - Moderator |
Nicola Fiore, EOSC Beyond (EGI) Gianni Dalla Torre, EOSC Mesh (EGI) TBD, Data Terra (IRD France) Jorge Mestre Tomás, FAME & OSCARS (CSIC) Lara Veylit, CLIMAREST (SINTEF) |
| 15:30 - 16:30 |
Panel discussion Capacity building & training Cyrielle Delvenne, VLIZ - Moderator |
Ana Carolina Mazzucco, OTGA and UNESCO/IOC for IODE Francisco Campuzano, +ATLANTIC Dina Eparkhina, EuroGOOS René Garello, IEEE France & IMT Atlantique Jaume Piera, Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) Stéphane Pesant, European Bioinformatics Institute | EMBL-EBI |
| 16:30 - 17:00 | Coffee Break and Poster session | |
| 17:00 - 18:00 |
Concluding Panel Looking ahead: Working with the marine research community to support the delivery of the Ocean Pact Oonagh McMeel, Seascape Belgium - Moderator |
Marine Vernet, IFremer Julie Olivier, EU Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership Baris Salihoglu, METU Toste Tanhua, GEOMAR |
| 18:00 - 19:30 | Networking cocktail | |