Vingroup pushes ‘Make in Vietnam’ rooftop solar, battery storage systems

VinES Energy Solutions JSC and Bach Khoa Investment & Development have struck a strategic partnership agreement to promote “Make In Vietnam” integrated rooftop solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The companies are subsidiaries of VinGroup and Solar Energy Corporation (SolarBK), respectively.

Under the agreement, SolarBK, formerly known as the Research Center for Thermal Equipment and Renewable Energy (RECTERE) of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, will become the authorized distributor for BESS products of VinES, the two sides announced Friday.

SolarBK will distribute VinES’s integrated solar rooftop and BESS solutions for residences and office segments in Vietnam.

The two partners also announced a piloting of 300 systems, which included a special offer for the first 100 offices and families registering to install the systems this year.

They said this was the first step to launching the systems on a larger scale in 2024, contributing to the country’s newly-approved Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) of having at least 50% of office and residential buildings have rooftop solar systems installed by 2030.

The Solar + BESS solutions, introduced by SolarBK and VinES, will bring to the market products developed based on the synergies from the only solar panel manufacturer and the battery manufacturer in Vietnam. This furthers the “Make In Vietnam” initiative of making high-quality products at reasonable prices with best-in-class aftersales services in the country.

Prior to the partnership with VinES, SolarBK had cooperated with Vincom Retail, another Vingroup subsidiary, to invest in 14MWp of solar systems at 50 Vincom shopping centers across the country.

“We highly appreciate the efforts of both companies cooperating to promote highly meaningful and valuable solutions for Vietnamese people and businesses,” Nguyen Quoc Dung, an officer with state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN), said at the signing ceremony.

Pham Thuy Linh, CEO of VinES, said: “We are very excited to announce this strategic collaboration with SolarBK in developing the integrated rooftop solar and battery energy storage system solutions for residential and office segments in Vietnam.

SolarBK CEO Nguyen Duong Tuan said: “It is our exhilaration to continue our collaboration with Vingroup in developing sustainable renewable energy solutions in Vietnam, especially with VinES in the solar energy storage. The Solar+BESS solution is our joint effort to promote renewable energy adoption in Vietnam and commit to the 2025 net-zero emissions target.”

VinES has recently signed several cooperation deals with foreign partners. In April, it signed with StoreDot, an Israel-headquartered pioneer of battery solutions, an agreement to develop extreme fast charging batteries. The two firms will introduce extreme fast charging (XFC) battery solutions for the green mobility market, including smart electric vehicles manufactured by VinFast, also part of Vingroup.

Also in April, Li-Cycle, the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, signed a definitive agreement with VinES for a long-term battery recycling relationship. Under the deal, the Canadian major will become VinES’s strategic and preferred recycling partner in 2024 for the latter’s Vietnamese-sourced battery materials.

VinES has also embarked on a partnership with Turkish company Altınay Elektromobilite to provide comprehensive energy storage solutions in the Turkish market.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed that households and offices installing rooftop solar panels be given a number of incentives such as tax and fee breaks and preferential loans.

In a proposal submitted to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the ministry said these incentives aimed to gradually implement the newly-approved Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII). By 2030, half the office buildings and homes in the country will be powered by rooftop solar panels. However, this source will not be connected to the national grid.