On February 22, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Industry and Trade organized a conference to implement the Vietnam Hydrogen Energy Development Strategy until 2030 and vision to 2050 (Hydrogen Energy Strategy), which was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 165/QD-TTg on February 7, 2024.
This strategy has opened up new development opportunities for Vietnam’s energy industry in a green, clean, and sustainable direction, in line with the Party’s viewpoints and State policies as well as the general development trend of the world.
The objective set out in the Hydrogen Energy Strategy is to develop Vietnam’s hydrogen energy ecosystem based on renewable energy, production, storage, transportation, distribution, and domestic use and export, with modern and synchronized infrastructure, to contribute to ensuring energy security, achieving the national goals of climate change, green growth, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, in accordance with Vietnam’s roadmap and commitments in the transition to sustainable energy, fairness, and justice.
At the same time, the Hydrogen Energy Strategy has introduced a series of new mechanisms and policies, including diversifying sources of capital, investment forms, attracting investment interests from non-state enterprises, international partners’ support, enhancing investment in science and technology, human resources development, applying market tools to promote green growth, low-carbon economy, circular economy, prioritizing international cooperation and communication to raise awareness of the benefits of the hydrogen economy and the Party and State’s policies in the field of clean energy to the whole society.
To effectively implement the Hydrogen Energy Strategy, at the conference, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien suggested that the functional units of the ministry focus on effectively disseminating the role, importance, and core contents of the strategy. At the same time, they need to quickly propose the construction and submission of specific plans to implement the goals and solutions stated in the strategy.
Furthermore, in coordination with relevant ministries and agencies, research and propose the issuance of regulations, mechanisms, and policies related to hydrogen energy… Strengthening mobilization of resources inside and outside the country to implement investment projects in hydrogen-based energy.
Central ministries, sectors, and localities need to focus on key and urgent tasks, including reviewing, adjusting, supplementing, and integrating into the National Sectoral Plans and provincial plans.
Research, propose the construction, amendment, supplementation of legal documents, mechanisms, and policies, especially policies to encourage the use of hydrogen fuel for vehicles, equipment, and green transport infrastructure, high-quality human resource training for the hydrogen energy industry, etc.
Mr. Pham Van Tan, Deputy Head of the Climate Change Department (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), said that hydrogen has been identified as a clean fuel in climate change negotiations worldwide. It is considered a solution to help the world achieve net-zero emissions by the mid-century. In Việt Nam’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) on climate change strategy until 2050, hydrogen is also considered a measure to help Vietnam reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In the section on mobilizing resources to implement the fair transition political declaration, hydrogen is also a priority area of cooperation between Vietnam and partners, partner groups within and outside the G7 and international organizations.
Therefore, the issuance of the national Hydrogen Development Strategy is determined to be timely. The contents of the strategy, the steps from now until 2050 are in line with the level of development of Vietnam and the world in the current context.
To implement this task, Mr. Tan shared that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is planning to implement related contents on fair energy and implement resource mobilization plans to deploy fair energy political declarations.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has also sent a document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, ministries, and enterprises proposing priority projects identified among nearly 300 projects identified for mobilizing resources to immediately use funding from international partners for fair energy.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment expects to receive a list from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to collect and report to the National COP26 Committee on the implementation of Vietnam’s commitments. Expected to report to the National COP26 Steering Committee to meet in March 2024 and hope that the hydrogen section will have investment projects or technical support to immediately use funding from fair energy,” Mr. Tan said.
Mr. Tran Trung Duc, Economic, Industrial, and Service Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment), agreed and said that in the Strategy, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is given two tasks.
First: Take the lead in coordinating with agencies and ministries to develop mechanisms and policies to promote hydrogen energy. On this issue, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will closely coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to promote policy mechanisms to promote the development of this industry.
Second: Research and propose the promulgation of regulations on investment decision-making authority for offshore wind power projects for hydrogen production. This is a major task and a big obstacle to the development of this industry.
Moreover, according to the proposal to amend the Electricity Law, an additional provision will be added to the Law on Investment regarding investment decision-making authority for offshore wind power projects. Accordingly, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has agreed during the process of proposing amendments to the Electricity Law.
