UK energy supply chain businesses explore opportunities in Vietnam

A green energy trade mission is on a visit to Vietnam to better understand the opportunities in Vietnam and connect with potential partners.

The delegation, made up of 17 representative British enterprises in the supply chain of offshore wind, green hydrogen, and energy storage sectors, will spend five days from October 20-24 across Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

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

This mission was led by the UK’s Deputy Trade Commissioner for Southeast Asia, Rhiannon Harries, starting with participation at the Green Economic Forum & Exhibition (GEFE) 2024. This is the first year the UK has participated in the forum, with the British Chamber of Commerce hosting a pavilion alongside other European countries.

British experts in the fields of renewable energy, green finance, and sustainable agriculture also spoke at the conference, sharing their experience to support Vietnam's green economy development.

UK deputy trade commissioner for Southeast Asia Rhiannon Harries said: “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. This has been clearly outlined in PDP8 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’s attendance at GEFE highlights our commitment to being Vietnam’s trusted partner on its green transition journey,” added Harries.

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

They also shared their insights with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade at a workshop on UK experience in development and supply chain for renewable energy, co-organized by the British embassy in 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.

British consul general in HCMC Alexandra Smith said: "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.

“The UK government has always been a partner of Vietnam in the energy transition. 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.”