The European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS) was designed as a pan-European distributed infrastructure with the vision of replacing the traditional science-for-art approach to conservation through the new widely interdisciplinary sector of Heritage Science (HS) to improve the understanding and sustainable preservation of cultural heritage. E-RIHS was admitted in the 2016 ESFRI Roadmap and is now preparing its step 2 application to take the legal form of an ERIC. The E-RIHS Implementation Phase (ERIHS IP) consortium brings  together representatives of the national nodes of the countries that expressed their willingness to support the establishment of the ERIC and one permanent observer. It aims at enabling the E-RIHS implementation phase and preparing the operation of E-RIHS ERIC, also in support of its positioning as the reference RI for the HS domain at the EU and global level. The objectives and methodology underpinning the E-RIHS IP work plan target and intend to overcome the bottlenecks highlighted in the recommendations of the 2020 ESFRI monitoring report, the EC High Level Expert Group report (2020) and the ERIC step 1 assessment (2021). Coordinated actions are dedicated to: (i) implement the E-RIHS governance structure and finalise its distributed architecture; (ii) support the E-RIHS management with strategies and related  implementation plans regarding HR, procurement, risk management and quality system; (iii) maintain and build upon the established E-RIHS excellence in user access and foster FAIR open access with the design of the DIGILAB platform; (iv) strengthen international cooperation, cultivate synergies and consolidate the HS community around E-RIHS, while establishing E-RIHS in the landscape of EU RIs and global initiatives; (v) secure the ERIC sustainability and unlock its socioeconomic impact potential by providing E-RIHS with an updated business plan and a marketing strategy tailored for its new lifecycle phase.