The BRIDGE General Assembly 2025 Report provides a detailed overview of how European energy innovation projects are progressing from research to market. Based on data from 51 projects and five case studies, it examines governance models, intellectual property strategies, investment readiness, and industrial collaborations.

The findings show that while technical innovation is strong, market-oriented structures remain limited. Most projects (91%) have not established a dedicated legal entity to manage market interactions, and 66% lack a structure to exploit research results. Intellectual property protection is widely used, mainly through patents and copyrights, with only 7% reporting no protection. However, 34% did not seek specialised IP support, pointing to gaps in professional guidance.

Investment activity remains modest. Only 9% of projects have attempted to secure private funding, while 55% primarily rely on grants. Limited business planning and insufficient market-oriented skills continue to hinder engagement with investors. Collaboration beyond project consortia is also relatively low (27%), mainly focused on technology and market validation, as well as product testing.

The report identifies systemic barriers, including misaligned stakeholder incentives, regulatory fragmentation, weak investment readiness, governance challenges within consortia, and data management constraints. At the same time, it highlights positive lessons: projects with strong industrial leadership, early involvement of regulators and DSOs, structured business plans, and external IP expertise show clearer and more effective pathways to market.

Overall, the report confirms that while BRIDGE projects demonstrate high innovation capacity, overcoming structural and market barriers will be crucial to ensure that solutions move beyond pilots and become fully integrated into Europe’s energy systems.

Dive into the BRIDGE General Assembly report 2025.