Vietnamese-German Energy Dialogue and Energy Partnership

Viet Nam boasts immense potential in renewable energy, particularly in photovoltaic and wind energy. Leveraging the potential of a renewable hydrogen economy is recognised as a pivotal element in Viet Nam's just energy transition. In this context, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to draw up a national hydrogen strategy by the end of 2023 to define the legal framework for domestic use of green hydrogen and its export within the Asian region.

The country's strategic plans, including the Power Development Plan 8, highlight the vital role of green hydrogen in decarbonising the electricity sector. Viet Nam is thus focusing on the co-combustion of green hydrogen/ammonia in thermal power plants, unlike most countries in the world that pursue the more efficient application of green hydrogen for hard-to-abate industrial sectors.

Thanks to a study tour to the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, industrial actors in the hydrogen sector and representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade had the chance to engage with officials from German and international ministries to get to know the latest state-of-the-art technologies and international policy developments. As part of the Vietnamese-German Energy Dialogue and in close cooperation with the PtX Hub, several studies were conducted that addressed key issues relating to the development of the hydrogen market, such as export potential, technical requirements and key sustainability criteria for the Vietnamese PtX industry. In particular, the study on green ammonia for power generation brought in international perspectives and informed the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the level of efficiency of and the environmental challenges relating to the process of green ammonia combustion.

At a round table dialogue with representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, universities, PetroVietnam, German technology providers and Vietnamese developers, opportunities and challenges associated with a green hydrogen industry in Viet Nam were discussed, as was the question of how actual market developments should be aligned with current policy developments. Furthermore, Vietnamese developers were matched with German solution providers and agreed on joint efforts in and around green hydrogen, e.g., TÜV SÜD and The Green Solutions joint activities in the hydrogen sector in Viet Nam.

Thanks to these efforts, GIZ is now a regular member of the national hydrogen steering committee and contributes actively to the strategy development process. At the same time, GIZ was instructed by the government to support the process of developing the hydrogen strategy of Viet Nam, as well as subordinated policies such as its implementation plan, in 2024.

The early involvement of the Energy Dialogue has enabled Germany to very effectively position itself in the area of green hydrogen in Viet Nam.