British businesses seek cooperation opportunities in renewable energy sector in Vietnam

A green energy trade mission, including representatives from 17 British enterprises in the supply chain of offshore wind, green hydrogen and energy storage sectors, and led by the UK’s Deputy Trade Commissioner for Southeast Asia Rhiannon Harries, paid a visit to Vietnam from October 20 - 24.

The visit was organized by the British Embassy in Vietnam and the British Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City.

The mission participated at the Green Economic Forum & Exhibition (GEFE) 2024, which was co-organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and opened in Ho Chi Minh City on October 21.

This is the first year the UK has participated in the forum, with the British Chamber of Commerce hosting a pavilion alongside others from European countries.

The delegation spent five days across Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to better understand the opportunities in Vietnam and connect with potential partners. 

As part of the visit, the delegation had bilateral sessions with Vietnamese industry partners, including Electricity Viet Nam (EVN) and Petro Vietnam (PVN), to explore cooperation opportunities, given their central role in Vietnam’s clean energy transition journey.

UK Deputy Trade Commissioner for Southeast Asia Rhiannon Harries said that climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions and global partnerships.

"Vietnam has set a clear ambition to accelerate its transition to renewable energy," Mr. Harries said. "This has been clearly outlined in PDP8 (the Power Development Plan VIII)  with a target of 6GW of offshore wind development. The UK is well-placed to support Vietnam’s clean energy ambitions – we are already home to the largest offshore wind market in Europe, the second largest in the world. The UK commit to being Vietnam’s trusted partner on its green transition journey.”

Last but not least, the delegation shared their insights with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) at the “UK Experience Sharing on Development and Supply Chain for Renewable Energy Workshop”, co-organized in Hanoi on October 23 by the MoIT and the British Embassy Hanoi. The workshop demonstrated the UK's commitment to becoming a reliable partner of Vietnam in the energy transition and opening up bilateral trade opportunities.

According to British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Alexandra Smith, the clean energy industry is the future of not only Vietnam but the whole world. The UK appreciates Vietnam's commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 as well as Vietnam's target of installing 6GW of offshore wind power by 2030. It is these commitments that are sending a strong message and attracting many resources from around the world.

"The UK government has always been a partner of Vietnam in the energy
transition," Ms. Smith said. "Specifically, we have always actively promoted the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to take effect timely, expecting to bring in $15.5 billion of investment into energy transition projects in Vietnam. British businesses also play an important role in supplying equipment and services. I am confident that the British Energy Trade Mission’s visit to Vietnam is just the beginning of many meaningful exchanges and the final outcome will be substantive cooperation between the two countries, especially in the trade sector of the industry.”

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long, for his part, highlighted Vietnam's renewable energy goals as well as its potential and challenges of offshore wind power, along with the implementation status of the Technology and Energy Group chaired by the MoIT and coordinated with ministries and sectors in implementing the Just Energy Transition Partnership Program (JETP).

The Deputy Minister expects that through the workshop, Vietnamese units will learn from the UK's experiences, thereby applying them and getting closer to the goals set by the Vietnamese Government on energy transition.

This is the second consecutive year that a British green energy trade mission has visited Vietnam, following the success back in November 2023.