French computing experts to deliver SKAO science data processor hardware

News
on 19 November 2025
France has been awarded its first SKAO construction contract, with computing specialists Eviden – part of the global Atos Group – tasked with building the science data processor hardware (SDP) for the Observatory’s two telescopes.

A contract signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space in Paris on 14 November, with representatives from the ministry, the SKAO, Eviden and the SKA-France consortium, which coordinates French SKA activities. 

“France has played a leading role in developing and designing the high-performance computing solutions for the SKAO, and these contributions have been instrumental in shaping the design of the SDP and ensuring that our computing systems meet the highest standards of sustainability and scientific capability,” SKAO Deputy Director-General Dr Simon Berry said at the event. 

“This agreement with Eviden – a company deeply rooted in France’s technological excellence – reflects that commitment and the vital role France plays in delivering this global project.” 

The SDP will process and reduce huge data volumes in order to produce detailed images of the sky. The SKA telescopes will need to process data equivalent to more than one million 4K Netflix streams, reducing them “on the fly” down to only a few thousand streams’ worth, and ultimately archiving ~700 PB a year. 

Initial deployments of SDP hardware are expected in the SKA telescope host countries Australia and South Africa during 2026. 

Read the Eviden press release here. 

Learn more about French involvement in the SKAO here.

Two men in suits shaking hands, with a document in front of them. In the background are the EU and French flags.
(L-R) Emmanuel Le Roux, Head Advanced Computing and AI at Eviden, and Dr Simon Berry, SKAO Deputy-Director General, at the contract signing ceremony in Paris on 14 November.