Vietnam, Korea firms partner in AI waste-to-energy application

Vietnam’s Green Star Environment JSC and two South Korean firms have partnered up in applying artificial intelligence (AI) in waste incineration within the waste-to-energy process.

SK ecoplant, part of Korean chaebol SK Group, and Chosun Refractories ENG signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese firm on Wednesday to advance the GCEP waste-to-energy (WTE) power plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh, also the first privately-run WTE factory in Vietnam.

Construction of the power plant began in May 2019 and the facility entered commercial operation in 2022. The 4.83-hectare plant can process 500 tons of waste daily.

SK ecoplant’s ZERO4 WtE technology can reduce nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide by 49.7% and increase the energy recovery rate to 3.1%.

With the cooperation, GCEP is set to become a leading example of carbon credit in line with the Paris Agreement and agreements between Vietnam and South Korea.

Bac Ninh’s electricity sales reached 1.795 billion kWh in the first quarter of this year, up 0.01% year-on-year, Bac Ninh Power Corporation announced Friday. The biggest sales belonged to the industry-construction sector with 79.57% of the total, followed by consumption with 16.17%. The power loss rate was 1.5%, down by 2.79 percentage points year-on-year.

Waste-to-energy is becoming a trend in Vietnam. The 75-megawatt Soc Son waste-to-power plant in Hanoi, the country's biggest of its kind, entered operation in July 2022. This is also the largest waste incineration plant in Vietnam with a capacity of handling 4,000 tons of dry waste a day, equivalent to nearly 5,500 tons of wet waste.

Dong Nai province, an industrial hub in southern Vietnam, has planned to invest VND2,286 billion ($94 million) in building a waste-to-power plant in a public-private partnership format. Construction on the 12-hectare plant in Vinh Tan commune, Vinh Cuu district will take three years, to complete in 2026.

Hai Phong City will seek investors for two waste-to-power plants in 2022-2027, according to the northern city's latest plan on handling solid waste for 2022-2025, with vision until 2050. The 9-hectare waste-to-power plant No. 1 in Dinh Vu Processing Zone, Hai An district can handle 1,000 tons of waste daily and has a capacity of 20 MW in phase 1 and 40 MW in phase 2. The 10-20 hectare waste-to-power plant No. 2 in Vinh Bao district can process 1,000 tons of waste daily and has a capacity of 20 MW.

Binh Duong Water Environment JSC (Biwase) signed loans of $20 million with foreign sources last December, without a government guarantee, for the construction and operation of a composting plant and waste-to-energy facility in Binh Duong province.