Dutch climate-centric fund manager enters Vietnam hydrogen fray

Climate Fund Managers (CFM) of the Netherlands has entered into strategic cooperation with Vietnam’s The Green Solutions (TGS) to promote hydrogen industry in the country.

“We feel at home in Vietnam, where we are seeking to bring green investment…,” Nathan Schmidt, head of CFM’s Asia operations, said at a Tuesday ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City before signing an MoU with Winnie Huynh, founder and CEO of TGS.

HCMC-headquartered TGS began constructing this March the first Vietnamese hydrogen plant in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh with an estimated investment of VND8 trillion ($341 million).

The company expects to begin operations at the 21-hectare factory after two years, initially producing 24,000 tons of green hydrogen and 195,000 tons of oxygen a year, and providing direct jobs for 300-500 local residents.

Tra Vinh is also home to two CFM-invested operational wind farms with a combined capacity of 132 MW, Singapore-based Schmidt noted, adding that his firm has so far invested $330 million in Vietnam.

“Vietnam is one of our key global investment destinations. The country is seeking to reach its carbon neutrality target by 2050; we’re supporting this ambition. Entering into cooperation with TGS today is our first step in promoting Vietnam’s green hydrogen sector,” he said.

Neither TGS nor Hague-based CFM, owned by Dutch development bank FMO and South African insurer Sanlam Ltd., explained their partnership in detail.

The CEO of TGS merely said that CFM was a “good partner” to have in the clean energy transition towards Vietnam’s 2050 net-zero target.

At the event, TGS played a video clip showing that the construction of its 21-hectare hydrogen plant in Tra Vinh was proceeding as scheduled.

The Netherlands is currently Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner in Europe and the largest EU investor in the country.

At a business meeting with Dutch companies in The Hague on June 26, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha had spoken about Vietnam’s orientation towards developing wind power projects and producing green hydrogen and green ammonia under the national Power Development Plan 8 (PDP VIII).

The Deputy PM also provided information on renewable energy development and other business areas so that Dutch firms could make new business decisions in Vietnam.

In May, TGS signed a purchase agreement with Hydrexia Malaysia under which the latter would supply hydrogen refuelling stations through 2023 and beyond. It would also be responsible for designing, deploying and maintaining the stations for TGS.

The two firms will jointly explore other hydrogen business opportunities in the Vietnamese market.

Hydrexia Malaysia is an international arm of Hydrexia, an Australian company specializing in solid-state hydrogen storage equipment.