- ECN, EU and ECOWAS are hosting a three-day hydrogen summit in Abuja to align stakeholders on Nigeria’s low-carbon hydrogen future.
- More than 50 government agencies, private sector players, academics and development partners will explore investment, policy and technology pathways for hydrogen development.
The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), in partnership with the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, will host a three-day strategic awareness and alignment summit on the low-carbon hydrogen economy in Abuja from June 23 to 25, 2026.
The summit forms part of efforts to position Nigeria as a leading player in Africa’s emerging hydrogen sector.
Organisers will hold the event at the National Bureau of Statistics in Abuja’s Central Business District and will welcome senior representatives from more than 50 federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, private sector organisations, academic institutions and international development partners.
They said the summit will build a shared national understanding of hydrogen opportunities and align institutions around practical actions required to unlock a low-carbon hydrogen economy in Nigeria.
Nigeria is pursuing energy diversification at a time when countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Namibia are already attracting significant hydrogen investments across Africa. Although Nigeria possesses some of the continent’s largest natural gas reserves and vast renewable energy resources, it has yet to secure a leading position in the emerging hydrogen investment landscape.
According to the organisers, the summit seeks to help Nigeria “leapfrog conventional energy transition timelines” by transforming its resource advantages into coordinated action and strategic investments.
Participants will engage in 15 technical sessions covering hydrogen production technologies, infrastructure development, logistics, financing frameworks, market mechanisms, governance structures and regional integration opportunities.
The sessions will also examine how existing national frameworks can support hydrogen development, including the National Energy Policy 2022, Climate Change Act 2021, Petroleum Industry Act 2021, Energy Transition Plan and National Industrial Policy 2025.
At the end of the summit, participants will develop a proposed “10-Point Hydrogen Leapfrog” perspective and outline voluntary institutional commitments aimed at shaping national discussions on hydrogen development.
Speaking ahead of the summit, ECN Director-General, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, said the event builds on initiatives that began with the inauguration of the Commission’s Hydrogen Committee in 2023.
He explained that the summit also strengthens ECN’s role as the Project Executing Entity for Nigeria’s component of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation’s Global Clean Hydrogen Programme.
Abdullahi noted that the programme selected Nigeria as one of only nine countries worldwide to participate in its first phase, creating an opportunity for the country to accelerate its hydrogen ambitions and strengthen its position in the global clean energy transition.