VIETNAMESE – GERMAN ENERGY DIALOGUE, BMWK DELEGATION VISIT TO VIETNAM

The delegation of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) led by Ms. Nicole Glanemann – Deputy Head of Division for Bilateral Energy Cooperation had a working visit to Viet Nam for an energy dialogue with Vietnamese government and enterprises on 20 and 21 February 2023. The bilateral discussion put focus on grid operation of offshore wind platforms, business cooperation on energy efficiency opportunities for green hydrogen development in Viet Nam, and a potential Energy Partnership between two countries. 

The visit aimed at supporting the Vietnamese government to strengthen the political and specific regulatory implementation process for the energy transition in Viet Nam throughout exchanging and sharing international experiences.   

The first meeting on Feb 20 between the BMWK’s representatives met and discussed with Vietnam Electricity EVN discussed the topics of grid integration and grid operation of offshore wind platforms. According to international experiences, connecting those forms of renewable energy such as offshore wind into the grid system can cause some challenges in operation. The experts also shared that countries around the world are having increasing ambition in renewable energy, which leads to new trends in developing offshore wind, such as increasing of power electronic converter and interface devices. To use investment capital effectively and be convenient for operation, the experts suggested that Viet Nam should go for TSO model to reach the ambitious target on offshore wind development. The model could help to use resources more efficiently and avoid fragment investments.   

On the same day, there was also a session between the BMWK and the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority (Ministry of Industry and Trade) on the main topic of considering upgrading the current form of cooperation “Energy Dialogue” to “Energy Partnership” between Viet Nam and Germany. With the “Energy Partnership”, bilateral cooperation would be more comprehensive. The two sides discussed and selected several key topics to focus on supporting cooperation within the framework of the Vietnamese-German Energy Partnership. The two sides agreed to select 2-3 main topics within the framework of Vietnamese – German Energy Partnership.  

The second day of the visit opened with a roundtable discussion on energy efficiency (EE) cooperation with the participation of 11 Vietnamese and German enterprises. The workshop aimed at expanding the knowledge exchange network, connecting enterprises in the industry, and thereby laying the foundation for a future business partnership.  Many difficulties while implementing EE projects were shared by the EE service providers in Viet Nam. The workers’ capacity to operate advanced technology at the production building is limited. This results in the energy efficiency projects that were in operation failing to achieve their expected results, which became bad precedents in the industry. Therefore, it is difficult for service providers to convince manufacturing business owners to invest in the EE projects.  

In these circumstances, BMWK and GIZ have agreed to support the implementation of several pilot projects having a combined business model between German solution providers and Vietnamese consulting firms. Successful pilot projects will create a premise to help EE service providers easily convince manufacturing business owners to invest in this field.  

The afternoon session discussed potential opportunities and challenges to develop the green hydrogen industry in Viet Nam. Following the success of the workshop on green hydrogen organized by GIZ and MOIT on November 30 last year, this workshop focused on discussing the potential of exporting green hydrogen and applications of green hydrogen in Viet Nam. Training programs on PtX technology run by ESP during 2021 – 2022 period were also introduced at the event. The trainings were provided to officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Institute of Energy, EVN, etc. In 2023, ESP plans to continue implementing other courses to train the trainers on PtX technology, as well as offering basic training courses nationwide. The trainings are expected to support the industry’s players on capacity building, contributing to the sustainability of green hydrogen industry.  

The visit is expected to continue to foster the Viet Nam – Germany energy cooperative relationship, which has been built and developed previously throughout the Vietnamese representatives’ visit to Berlin in March 2022 within the framework of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue and the Vietnamese- German Energy Day, as well as the BMWK’s visit to Viet Nam in last November 2022.  

After this visit of BMWK to Viet Nam, the Vietnamese high-level delegation will also pay a working visit to Berlin, Germany to continue fostering the energy partnership between the two countries. The trip is expected to take place in March, 2023.