BRIDGE is a European Commission initiative which unites Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Smart Grid, Energy Storage, Islands, and Digitalisation Projects to create a structured view of cross-cutting issues which are encountered in the demonstration projects and may constitute an obstacle to innovation. The BRIDGE process fosters continuous knowledge sharing amongst projects thus allowing them to deliver conclusions and recommendations about the future exploitation of the project results, with a single voice, through four different Working Groups representing the main areas of interest

The Working Group on Data Management is working on:

• Communication Infrastructure, embracing the technical and non-technical aspects of the communication infrastructure needed to exchange data and the related requirements, including issues faced by TSO and DSO
• Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, entailing data integrity, customer privacy and protection
• Data Handling, including the framework for data exchange and related roles and responsibilities, together with the technical issues supporting the exchange of data in a secure and interoperable manner, and the data analytics techniques for data processing

The Working Group on Business Models aims at:

• Defining common language and frameworks around business model description and valuation
• Identifying and evaluating existing and new or innovative business models from the project demonstrations or use cases
• The development of a simulation tool allowing for the comparison of the profitability of different business models applicable to smart grids and energy storage solutions is being developed and tested by the Working Group members

The Working Group on Regulation is working on the following topics:

• As regards energy storage, the regulatory framework needs to provide clear rules and responsibilities concerning ownership, competition, technical modalities and financial conditions, for island and mainland cases
• In terms of smart grids, regulatory challenges arise regarding the incentives for demand-side response, commercial arrangements, cooperation with TSO and DSO, smart meter date, etc.

The Working Group on Consumer and Citizen Engagement is working on:

• Consumer Segmentation, analysis of cultural, geographical and social dimensions
•  Value systems – Understanding Customers
• Drivers for Consumer and Citizen Engagement
•  Effectiveness of Engagement Activities
•  Identification of what triggers behavioral changes (e.g. via incentives)
•  The Regulatory Innovation to Empower Consumers