Building Regional Technical Depth and Strategic Partnerships
A competitive hydrogen economy requires sustained research capacity, localized validation, and structured international cooperation. The Research and Innovation pillar of the COMESA Centre of Excellence on Green Hydrogen is designed to reduce technology risk, support regulatory standard setting, and enable regional participation in global hydrogen value chains.
Hosted within the regulatory coordination framework of Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa, this pillar ensures that technical knowledge development is directly linked to policy harmonization, certification systems, and infrastructure deployment.
Hydrogen technologies must be adapted to regional renewable profiles, grid conditions, water availability constraints, and industrial operating environments. Localized research capacity reduces reliance on external expertise and strengthens long term industrial competitiveness.
Applied Research Priorities
The Centre will focus on four core research domains.
Electrolyzer performance and systems integration research will evaluate operational efficiency, degradation rates, and flexible load management under regional renewable energy conditions. This supports integration of hydrogen production into cross border electricity market planning.
Hydrogen safety and materials research will address storage integrity, leak detection systems, materials compatibility, and operational safety standards suited to regional industrial contexts. This work directly informs the Regional Hydrogen Regulatory Framework. Water and energy nexus optimization research will assess desalination options, water recycling systems, and efficient resource management to ensure environmentally sustainable hydrogen production.
End use research will support validation of hydrogen applications in fertilizer production, steel processing, mining mobility, heavy transport, and distributed power systems.
Memoranda of Understanding and Strategic Cooperation
To strengthen research depth and accelerate knowledge transfer, the Centre will formalize cooperation through Memoranda of Understanding with:
Regional universities and technical institutes to establish hydrogen research chairs, postgraduate programs, and laboratory collaboration.
International hydrogen research institutions and technical centers to facilitate technology transfer, joint validation studies, and access to advanced testing methodologies. Development finance institutions and climate funds to support research infrastructure, scholarships, and pilot technology deployment.
Private sector technology providers to enable co development of demonstration systems, performance validation, and local assembly initiatives. These MOUs will provide structured frameworks for joint research, exchange programs, data sharing agreements, and coordinated funding applications. Formal cooperation mechanisms ensure continuity beyond individual projects and embed research partnerships within institutional governance.
Research Infrastructure Development
The Centre will progressively establish shared regional facilities, including electrolyzer testing laboratories, hydrogen materials validation units, digital simulation platforms, and certification validation infrastructure.
These facilities will operate as regional public goods, accessible to Member States, regulators, industry participants, and academic institutions under structured access protocols. Infrastructure development will be sequenced to align with demonstration zone deployment and certification system operationalization.
Knowledge Transfer and Capacity Integration
Research activities will be integrated with structured training programs under the Capacity Development pillar. Engineers, regulators, auditors, and technical specialists will participate in research initiatives, ensuring practical knowledge transfer and institutional strengthening.
Scholarship programs, exchange fellowships, and joint publications under formal MOUs will contribute to sustained regional expertise.
Strategic Outcomes
The Research and Innovation pillar will deliver:
- Validated performance data under regional operating conditions.
- Reduced technology deployment risk.
- Enhanced regulatory standard setting capacity.
- Stronger regional academic and technical ecosystems.
- Structured international cooperation frameworks through MOUs.
- Improved investor confidence in technology readiness.
By embedding research partnerships within formal cooperation agreements and aligning technical validation with regulatory harmonization, the Centre strengthens both technological sovereignty and regional competitiveness.
Under the leadership of Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa, research and innovation become integral components of a coordinated and scalable hydrogen ecosystem across COMESA.
