The Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud EOSC Node federates data and services from Europe’s photon and neutron research infrastructures.
It builds on the PaNOSC and ExPaNDS projects, integrating 11 facilities and their catalogues, AAI, VREs, training, and visualisation services. The Node will enhance FAIR data availability, enable AI/ML applications, and strengthen Open Science practices across domains. It connects with EOSC EU Node and other thematic/national nodes to maximise scientific and societal impact.
To provide FAIR, high-quality data and services from photon and neutron RIs into the EOSC Federation, increasing scientific impact, adoption of FAIR, and cross-node collaboration.
FAIR data
The Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud EOSC Node makes more than 600,000 datasets from photon and neutron research infrastructures accessible via federated catalogues (OAI-PMH, PaN Federated Search), and links them with EOSC metadata search engines, LSRI databases, and domain ontologies (PaNET).
Scientific use cases
PaN-Finder
The PaN-Finder science case presents an artificial intelligence–driven data discovery platform designed to enhance Open Science within Europe’s research communities by making data from photon and neutron facilities easier to find.
The initiative builds upon previous work undertaken through the PaNOSC (Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud) project, which aimed to interconnect data catalogues from large-scale research facilities. While the initial federated portal provided a single access point to open data, it was limited by inconsistencies in metadata, domain-specific terminology, and the need for users to possess detailed technical knowledge to perform effective searches. PaN-Finder aims to lower these barriers, making the discovery of open research data more intuitive and inclusive.
Other use cases
- Align PaNOSC AAI with EOSC AAI (achieved)
- Curated FAIR data for X-ray/neutron techniques (in progress)
- Link PaN data to life-science reference databases (on hold)
- Provide access to PaNOSC VRE (VISA) for EOSC users (in progress)
- Common training platform federated with Life Sciences Connect (achieved)
- H5Web visualisation and verification service (achieved)
Status
Candidate thematic EOSC Node (build-up phase, 2 years from March 2025) with letter of intent signed by all partners.
Deliverables
- IT Governance documentation (Charter, Architecture Design, IT Security Plan, Risk Catalogue)
- Data protection policies (GDPR, DPA, Risk Registry)
- Deployment & integration plans (configuration, charters, progress, risks, timelines)
- Operational quality plans (QA, capacity, testing, incident handling)
- Stakeholder engagement strategy (communications, documentation, training)
- Production roll-out of service components and APIs
- Datasets and repositories from 11 PaN RIs
- Software and tools (VISA VRE, WEBKNOSSOS, EWOKS, XRFitVis)
- Services (H5Web, PaN training, federated search, PaN software catalogue, VISA VRE)

Technical status
Completed
- Federated AAI (UmbrellaID → MyAccessID, eduTEAMS, EOSC AAI compliant)
- Management system (FitSM-aligned, IT governance, GDPR, ISO-compliant policies)
Ongoing
- Onboarded service catalogues (PaN data catalogues, federated search)
- Application workflow management (VISA VRE / workflow access for EOSC users integration in progress)
Planned
- Service monitoring (target December 2026)
- Service and research product accounting
- Order management
- Helpdesk (target December 2026)
Interactions with other EOSC Nodes
The Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud EOSC Node collaborates with the following EOSC Nodes via multi-node workflows and FAIR data linking.
How to access the Node
Rules of Participation
The Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud RoP policy is aligned with
- The EOSC Federation;
- Open Data policies from LEAPS/LENS RIs;
- FAIR data principles; and
- GDPR and ISO security frameworks.
Federated AAI ensures EOSC User access.
Access points
- Via home page (panosc.eu/panosc-eosc-node)
- Via PaNOSC federated catalogues (data.panosc.eu)
- VISA VRE portals (visa.esrf.fr or visa.ill.fr)
- Catalogue at pan-training.eu
Node capabilities
Federated services
- AAI
- federated search
- metadata standards (NeXuS, PaNET)
- training catalogues
- visualisation tools
Data repositories
Nine PaN facility catalogues linked to LSRI databases (PDB, EMDB)
Compute and storage
- PaN VREs
- OpenStack clusters with CPU/GPU
VRE
- VISA
- Webknossos
- Neuroglancer
- Jupyter
Other
- CVMFS for software packaging
- h5web for data visualisation
- competence centres at RIs
Coordinating organisation
Node organisation
Coordinator
Andy Götz (ESRF)
Operation Manager
Oliver Knodel (HZDR)
Security Officer
Jean-François Perrin (ESRF)
Scientific Officer
Zdenek Matej (MAX IV)
Privacy Officer
Jean-François Perrin (ESRF)
Legal Officer
Renata Gibson (ESRF)
Contributing organisations
HZDR, ESS, ILL, DESY, ELETTRA, MAX IV Laboratory, European XFEL, PSI, Synchrotron Soleil, ALBA, and other members of LEAPS and LENS
