Enterprize Energy, a pioneering low carbon energy developer, and the Vietnamese Institute of Energy, which advances and supports scientific and technological innovations in energy production, have agreed a memorandum of understanding to partner in a study assessing green hydrogen’s potential to supercharge Vietnam’s energy capabilities.
The study, scheduled to commence in 2022, is likely to play a significant role in guiding policy in Vietnam, with a specific eye on the role green hydrogen plays in the country’s future energy mix.
In a further demonstration of the commercial momentum that Enterprize is building in the region, company Chairman Ian Hatton joined Nguyen Duc Hien, Deputy Head of the Central Economic Department, and Dang Hoang An, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, to discuss ‘offshore wind power for the future of clean energy in Vietnam’ as part of a GWEC seminar.
It follows a meeting at COP26 where Enterprize CEO Malcolm Garrity updated Vietnam’s prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, on plans for the development of offshore wind and green hydrogen production.
Enterprize, currently undertaking surveys to develop the 3.4GW Thang Long offshore wind farm in the Ke Ga Cape off the coast of the Bin Thuan province in Vietnam, is proposing to produce more than 330,000 tonnes of green hydrogen for export and domestic consumption annually, as part of its Energy Plus model. This approach would convert seawater to green hydrogen via large-scale offshore turbines connected to adjacent electrolysers.
Green hydrogen can also be converted into green ammonia, (NH3), a stabler and more easily transportable compound which is also useful as a fertiliser.
Speaking at the GWEC seminar, Mr. Nguyen Duc Hien affirmed that over the last 20 years the average annual growth rate of Vietnam’s electricity output reached 10-12%, rising from 1.5 to twice the GDP growth rate of the economy, with offshore wind rated as the only renewable energy source capable of running the base load for the system.
According to World Bank calculations, Vietnam can fully develop an offshore wind power market of between 5 and 10GW by 2030, helping to create a total value added of more than US$60 billion to the economy.
Vietnam is committed to achieving net-zero by 2050 and is developing a detailed roadmap for each sector to fulfill its commitments, including clean and renewable energy.
“Vietnam has an enormous opportunity to harness offshore wind to meet its energy needs – mid-term, and in the coming decades,” says Ian Hatton, Chairman, Enterprize Energy. “But this potential goes beyond simply generating electricity for the grid. There is potential – by taking a holistic, joined-up approach – to look at how that energy can be converted to green hydrogen or green ammonia, stored, used to decarbonise energy-intensive industry, and exported to localised markets.
“Taking a joint approach to the considerable potential of green hydrogen ensures that palpable progress in the sector is made, as evidenced by projects like Thang Long. This development has the potential to generate a truly clean fuel in the form of green hydrogen, and might even be expanded to 5.4GW to further increase production.
“Part and parcel of our eagerness to collaborate with the Institute of Energy and the Department of Industry and Trade is our ongoing commitment to ensuring Vietnam enjoys the full socio-economic benefits that green hydrogen can and will deliver over the coming years, in tandem with the country’s offshore wind ambitions.”
