Promoting African-European Cooperation in Renewable Energy Research and Innovation
Kokouvi Edem N’TSOUKPOE from the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE) actively participated in the LEAP-RE Stakeholder Forum 2024, held from October 6 to 12. The forum, a key event for fostering cooperation between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) in renewable energy, gathered stakeholders to discuss pressing challenges and opportunities in the field of renewable energy and sustainability.
The primary objectives of N’TSOUKPOE’s mission were to contribute to discussions on the energy transition, strengthen collaboration between African and European partners in renewable energy research, and engage in the LEAP-RE consortium’s General Assembly. Additionally, N’TSOUKPOE led a solar thermal module as part of the RE-School summer program and played a key role in the work of the “Pillar 2” partners of LEAP-RE and the SETADISMA Working Group, reviewing achievements and planning future steps for collaboration.
Throughout the forum, several important themes emerged, including the need for a just energy transition and addressing the challenges associated with it. A particularly striking observation was the underrepresentation of African researchers in scientific publications about renewable energy in Africa, highlighting a critical gap in local expertise and authorship. This issue underscored the importance of fostering long-term partnerships like those established within LEAP-RE, with suggestions to integrate these collaborations into future European project evaluation criteria.
During the forum’s twinning session, N’TSOUKPOE identified potential collaboration opportunities with teams from Morocco, Egypt, and Senegal, particularly in the area of thermal comfort related to solar cooling technologies. These discussions promise exciting avenues for joint projects under the LEAP-RE consortium.

Animation of the solar thermal session at the RE-School
As mentionned above, part of the RE-School initiative, N’TSOUKPOE delivered a solar thermal course to young researchers, aimed at building capacity in renewable energy. He also attended lectures on satellite data utilization and solar cooking, led by colleagues from the National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG) in Spain, which provided fresh pedagogical insights for future training programs within 2iE.
N’TSOUKPOE had the honor of moderating a session on energy system modeling, focusing on the water-energy-food nexus. Despite the existence of effective models for integrated energy systems, the session emphasized the need for improvements tailored to African contexts, better integration with climate change factors, and the adoption of emerging technologies like green hydrogen. Additionally, discussions raised the issue of post-project infrastructure management in Africa, where many projects are abandoned due to a lack of maintenance funding. N’TSOUKPOE shared insights from the SophiA project on managing infrastructure beyond project completion.

On-site panel members of the Energy modelling session
The final day of the forum saw N’TSOUKPOE participating in the LEAP-RE General Assembly, which addressed key administrative and financial aspects of the project. One significant outcome was the consortium’s request for an extension of the LEAP-RE program until June 2026, due to delays in several Pillar 1 projects. Discussions with the SETADISMA project partners, including 2iE, focused on the next steps, with regular project expenses set to conclude by the end of October 2024, though communication and dissemination activities remain eligible for funding until December 2025.
Looking ahead, a new call for projects under the LEAP-RE program is expected by the end of 2024 or early 2025, offering additional funding opportunities for African countries, including those without contributing national funding agencies, such as Burkina Faso. This presents a promising path forward for advancing renewable energy research and innovation on the continent.