**1. Introduction**

Energy is key to economic growth, and it is crucial for development. Access to affordable and clean energy is a key component to meet sustainable Development Goals for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries, whose vision is to increase the share of renewable energy in the overall electricity capacity to 48 percent by 2030 [1,2]. Over the last decade, ECOWAS members, which comprise 15 countries, experienced an increased population of over 334.6 million people, which represents onethird of Sub-Saharan Africa's total population [3,4]. ECOWAS countries are facing several challenges in terms of access to electricity by their population. Only 42% of the total population and 8% of rural residents have access to electricity [5,6]. The electricity access varies widely, from Niger with an electrification rate of just 13% in 2019 to 96% in Cabo Verde which has achieved nearly universal access. In some countries, such as Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, the estimated share of rural populations with access to electricity may be as low as 1 to 4% [7]. This low access emanates from a combination of several factors, which may include socio-economic, technical, political, financial, and institutional

**Citation:** Ballo, A.; Valentin, K.K.; Korgo, B.; Ogunjobi, K.O.; Agbo, S.N.; Kone, D.; Savadogo, M. Law and Policy Review on Green Hydrogen Potential in ECOWAS Countries. *Energies* **2022**, *15*, 2304. https:// doi.org/10.3390/en15072304

Academic Editor: Ben McLellan

Received: 3 February 2022 Accepted: 8 March 2022 Published: 22 March 2022

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policy framework barriers. ECOWAS members can meet their electricity demand through the promotion of green hydrogen because of their huge renewable energy potential. For instance, hydropower potential is sufficient to cover all the energy demands in the ECOWAS countries [8]. The region, throughout the year, also has huge solar energy potential with a very high radiation mean of 5 to 6 kWh/m<sup>2</sup> [9]. According to IRENA (2018), West Africa's solar potential could reach 20 GW by 2030 [10]. Despite the available renewable resource potential (solar, hydro, and wind), the ECOWAS countries' objective of transiting to a green economy using renewable energy resources still faces constraints that hinder its further economic development.

The transition to a green economy using renewable energy implies strong political engagement, important investment, the modernization of infrastructure systems, and a concerted effort from different scientific disciplines, which is a significant challenge. Therefore, in 2019, as a recommendation of COP21, many countries such as China, France, Japan, and South Korea set investment targets to deploy hydrogen energy technologies globally. In early 2021, more than 10 countries including Australia, Chile, Finland, Germany, Norway, Portugal, and Spain, plus the European Union (EU) developed and adopted hydrogen strategies and roadmaps. This was largely catalyzed by the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November 2021 [11]. Nine further countries are expected to unveil their strategies in the near future [12]. The EU hydrogen strategy places particular emphasis on cooperation and complementarities with sub-Saharan African countries as part of its green hydrogen strategy and economic transition. According to Elkhan (2021), the deployment of green hydrogen will bridge the gap between the energy transition between Europe and Africa on the one hand, and climate and development goals on the other [13]. At the same time, ECOWAS countries have entered into global agreements and processes where the green economy is defined explicitly as a Sustainable Development Goal. These are, for example, the decision of the Paris Climate Agreement; the African Union's Comprehensive Strategy on Climate Change; the African Development Bank's Green Growth Framework; UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7); Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in order to move to a low-carbon economy, etc. Further, to facilitate this sustainable green economy transition in ECOWAS countries, appropriate research and development efforts that are transdisciplinary are necessary. Such efforts will be required to update the existing infrastructure and technologies-based fossil fuel and regulations framework concerning green energy policies.

ECOWAS countries have many existing law and policy framework conditions that may boost renewable energy development and other green energy options such as green hydrogen energy. The development of green hydrogen fits perfectly into the global approach towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the environment and climate. Indeed, green hydrogen technologies release no greenhouse gases and make it possible to decarbonize several sectors of human activity (transport, combustion, industrial processes, production and storage of electricity) while offering an opportunity for economic growth for West African countries. Investing in green hydrogen energy in the ECOWAS region will be very helpful to achieve the ambitious goal of the European Union (EU), the ECOWAS, and the Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) which includes [14]: (i) universal access to sustainable energy services by 2030, (ii) 31% of the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix by 2030 [15]. Hydrogen has the highest specific energy content among all conventional fuels and can be extracted from water. It has been projected that green hydrogen will play a great role in the future scenario of energy sectors [16]. Hydrogen utilization is free of toxic gas formation as well as CO2 emission compared with other fossil fuels and the energy yield of hydrogen is about 122 kJ/g, which is 2.75 times greater than that of hydrocarbon fuels [17]. This will help decarbonize and help achieve greater green energy and economic transition that lay emphasis on clean energy technologies such as green hydrogen technology.

Additionally, in many ECOWAS countries, the status of renewable energy resources is not clearly defined, but rather incorporated within the competitive and regulatory frameworks of the electricity or energy sector. This approach poses several challenges for investors wishing to invest in renewable energy projects [18,19]. Based on the overemphasized gaps in the insecure legislation in the renewable energy sector, there is an urgent need for ECOWAS member countries to clearly define a legal statutory policy for renewable energy resources with robust regulatory laws which will significantly contribute to attracting large-scale investment in the sector.

The research problem is, therefore, to investigate the gaps that exist in hydrogen energy policy and strategies that can meet sustainable development goals on green hydrogen deployment at the national and regional levels. The paper also attempts to examine the policy barriers to the development and the implementation of renewable energy and hydrogen technologies across ECOWAS member countries. The significance of this review is to make recommendations that will guide ECOWAS governments on green hydrogen policy and strategies for the transition to a green economy.
