Zero Bridge focuses mainly on interoperability between permissioned blockchains, where access control mechanisms present peculiarities that are not found in their public counterparts. Encouraging interoperability between private blockchains in a secure, efficient, and confidential manner could be a turning point in the Industry 4.0 revolution.
Can you briefly present your team?
The Zero Bridge team brings together researchers from some Italian universities in collaboration with the companies Bilancio CO2 Zero and Agile By Chain. Alessandro Bigiotti is a PhD candidate in a national program on blockchain technology at the Computer Science Division of the University of Camerino. Leonardo Mostarda is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Perugia. Alfredo Navarra is a full professor in the same department at the University of Perugia. Andrea Pinna is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Cagliari, where Roberto Tonelli is a full professor in the same department. Collectively, the team has strong expertise in blockchain theory, including consensus protocols, distributed ledgers, and cryptographic foundations, as well as in the design and analysis of secure decentralized systems. They are also experienced in blockchain software development, from smart contract engineering to the implementation and evaluation of scalable, production-ready blockchain platforms.
How did you come up with this project idea and what benefits will it bring to the end users?
The project idea arises from research on blockchain interoperability, with a particular emphasis on private and permissioned settings. While the integration of blockchain technology into enterprise environments is a cornerstone of Industry 4.0, interoperability still poses a critical barrier to many real-world applications. Our literature review revealed a gap in interoperability protocols that can support general-purpose applications while simultaneously addressing efficiency, security, and privacy requirements. Zero Bridge is designed to fill this gap by offering a turnkey solution for the interconnection of permissioned blockchains, capable of supporting a wide range of use cases. By lowering the technical and organizational barriers to cross-chain integration, Zero Bridge can act as a catalyst for the adoption of blockchain technologies in business contexts,
enabling the optimization of existing processes and the development of new decentralized applicatio .
How is TrustChain supporting your growth and what role does it play for the next steps in your development?
TrustChain has supported our growth in multiple ways, providing access to industry experts, researchers, and developers who have helped us refine our business processes and broaden the applicability of our solution. Through the User Centric Approach methodology, we were able to validate our assumptions directly with stakeholders, align the technology with real user needs, and progressively transform an initial idea into a concrete, well-structured project. Looking ahead, TrustChain can play a key role in our next steps by helping us identify additional use cases and by offering an ecosystem where we can practically demonstrate interoperability across different platforms. For example, we see clear opportunities in interconnecting the Alastria B-Network and T-Network or, more generally, in connecting Alastria with other external permissioned blockchains, as already explored by linking the B-Network with the Italian Blockchain Service Infrastructure (IBSI). In this sense, TrustChain is not only a source of technical and business support, but also an enabler for turning our concept into a real, deployable solution within a live multi-blockchain environment.
Why did you apply to the TrustChain call and has your vision changed since then?
We applied because TrustChain’s fourth call directly matched our work on cross‐chain interoperability. The call’s goal was to design gateways that move data and processes across chains securely and sustainably which aligns with our focus on connecting permissioned blockchains. TrustChain also required a User Centric approach, so we involved real developers and stakeholders early on, gathering requirements, testing prototypes and refining features. We learned that interoperability is not just a technical issue; it also requires understanding how developers and organisations will actually use the bridge and ensuring that privacy, regulatory compliance and usability are baked in. This helped us turn a theoretical idea into a practical solution that meets actual needs, advancing TrustChain’s mission to build a human‐centred and trustworthy digital infrastructure.
What is the most valuable takeout from the TrustChain project and why was the topic of the Open Call important to you/your team?
The most valuable benefit of participating in TrustChain is the combination of funding, mentorship, and infrastructure that helps
transform initial concepts into robust, implementable solutions. We believe the most valuable aspect of the TrustChain ecosystem is its ability to transform simple ideas into concrete projects, ready for implementation and integration across various industries. The explicit need to leverage blockchain technologies is highly innovative and could accelerate the integration of this technology for various purposes and applications, increasing decentralization, transparency, and trustworthiness. From our perspective, Open Call 4 was particularly important because it addressed multi-chain interoperability, a key challenge in the blockchain industry. It encouraged projects to explore cross-chain scenarios, open standards for data interoperability, and secure
digital identity solutions, with a particular focus on privacy, legal compliance, sustainability, and energy efficiency. This focus is aligned with our research on permissioned blockchain interoperability tools.
Did you establish collaboration with any of the TrustChain teams or plan for any kind of synergies? If yes, what is the biggest potential in such collaborations?
We have been collaborating with the OIDC-PRINCE and Morph Metro teams from the Open Call 2. Collaborations with other teams are essential to help create a more cohesive and informed ecosystem of applications already implemented within TrustChain. This can benefit the various Open Calls in various ways, depending on their purpose and requirements. In our case, we can say that synergy with other teams helped us better understand the implemented use cases and whether they could benefit from interoperability protocols. This helped us improve our offering, both to meet the needs of the various teams and to make our solution more resilient and usable to meet the needs of various decentralized applications.
What are your expectations regarding the TrustChain software ecosystem and its contribution to the NGI priority areas?
We expect the TrustChain software ecosystem to become a foundational building block for the NGI vision, by providing concrete, reusable components that translate the NGI priority areas into deployable technologies. We expect the ecosystem to help move away from siloed, platform-centric architectures towards distributed models where users and organisations retain control over their data by offering interoperable modules for identity, consent, and trustworthy data exchange. A key contribution we foresee is that TrustChain will make it easier for developers to adopt privacy-preserving and GDPR-aligned patterns by default. Finally, we expect the ecosystem to foster an open community of developers, researchers and stakeholders, including SMEs and public bodies, who can co-create new services on top of shared infrastructure.
What are the next steps for your team?
We are currently optimizing the proposed solution to increase security and maintain high performance. As a next step, we are analyzing its application potential, creating templates to facilitate its integration into various domains. To this end, it may be useful to identify other internal TrustChain teams that might be interested in our solution, as well as seeking external partners who could adopt it. Finally, we are working to make the prototype a peer-to-peer application. This could increase the possibility of potential partnerships with blockchain service providers such as Hyperledger Besu and Hyperledger Fabric.
What is the message you would give to new and potential applicants to TrustChain Open Calls?
Our message to new and potential applicants is simple: TrustChain is a highly supportive environment if you want to validate ambitious ideas with real users and strengthen them through structured technical and user-centric guidance. The programme gives you access to a knowledgeable ecosystem, mentors who challenge your assumptions, and a community that helps you refine your approach around interoperability, privacy and decentralised identity. Come prepared to iterate, listen to user feedback and adapt your architecture, the more you engage, the more value you’ll extract. If your project aims to build trustworthy, human-centred digital services, TrustChain is an opportunity to mature your ideas faster and with better alignment to European priorities.