The Czech - Vietnam Energy Forum took place on 20 February 2023 in Hanoi, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) of Vietnam, Vietnam Electricity, the Industry Federation of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vietnam.
The Czech - Vietnam Energy Forum takes place on 20 February 2023, at headquarters of Vietnam Electricity (Hanoi).
Great cooperation potential
Mr. Dang Hoang An - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam said: It is forecasted that Vietnam's energy and electricity demand in the coming years will continue to increase rapidly to meet the needs of the economy and people. At COP26, Vietnam engaged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This engagement demonstrates the determination of the Vietnam Government to implement the transition goals from traditional fossil energy sources to green, clean energy sources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and combating climate change. The Vietnam Government is directing to continue sharply increasing the proportion of renewable energy sources such as hydropower, onshore and offshore wind power, solar power, biomass power, and new forms of energy in the nation's power source structure. At the same time, the Vietnam Government also emphasized the goal of increasing the use of energy economically and efficiently, reducing the energy use of the economy through a powerful economic transition towards green growth, sustainable development, and circular economy development.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam - Mr. Dang Hoang An speaking at the forum
According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An, the energy industry development orientation and energy transition program in Vietnam will open up many great cooperation opportunities for foreign investors and enterprises, including the Czech Republic enterprises.
Accordingly, several potential areas that the two sides can consider exchanging and seeking cooperation opportunities: The development of renewable energy, and green energy; Fuel transition, environmental treatment for thermal power plants and gas turbines in operation; The potential exploitation of medium and small hydropower plants in association with environmental protection, to expand existing hydropower projects, to build pumped hydropower plants; Solutions to improve efficiency, use savings and energy efficiency; Transferring of advanced technologies in energy extraction and production; Development of new transmission grid system, upgrading and modernizing the existing power grid system, applying smart grid technology (Smart Grid); Modernizing the power system management and dispatch system, developing the electricity market at all levels, improving the capacity of institutional building and energy management in the economy...
Mr. Dang Hoang An emphasized: “The Czech Republic has traditional strengths in energy technology, power generation, mining, a developed mechanical engineering industry, and strong potential in science and technology. Vietnam is a country with rapidly increasing electricity and energy demand and has a strong energy transition plan. From those two observations, it can be seen that the energy cooperation potential of the two sides has a lot of growth opportunities."
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Czech Republic – Mr. Jozef Síkela speaking at the forum
"Very close friend"
According to Mr. Jozef Síkela - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, this energy forum is a continuation of the visit of EVN representatives to Prague (Czech Republic) in June 2022 during the 7th session of the Czech-Vietnamese Government Cooperative Joint Committee.
The Czech Republic is one of the most industrially developed countries in Europe. Czech companies have a lot of experience in implementing and supplying equipment for large energy projects around the world. Czech energy companies have enough technical capabilities, as well as experience in energy conversion, to support Vietnam in general and EVN in particular in achieving the planned targets.
Vice President of Vietnam Electricity Vo Quang Lam speaking at the forum
Speaking at the forum, Vice President of Vietnam Electricity Vo Quang Lam informed that at the present, Vietnam's power capacity scale is leading in Southeast Asia. In the current structure of Vietnam's electricity sources, hydropower accounts for 29%, renewable energy accounts for 26%, and coal-fired power accounts for 33%. The energy transition will be the lever for the coming growth phase.
Mr. Vo Quang Lam assessed that this is a favorable opportunity for the parties to exchange and share experiences, creating favorable conditions for cooperation between EVN and its partners from the Czech Republic. This helps develop the energy industry of the two countries.
On this occasion, the delegates listened to several presentations from Czech enterprises on power plant technology and the power industry. In it, there is a presentation of ČEPS - the only unit for operating, maintaining, and developing the Czech Republic's power transmission system; ENELEX - a specializing company in online coal quality analysis equipment and quality management system; STROJÍRNY BRNO - a specializing company on water turbines and mechanical equipment; Czech Association of Mining Technology - specializing exhaust gas purification equipment, air conditioning and ventilation in power plants...
The Czech Republic is a country with a highly developed science and technology foundation. Companies from the Czech Republic have a team of good experts, good quality, and practical experience in operating the power system in the context of the Czech energy industry preparing for the gradual phase-out of coal from the energy structure. In particular, the energy sectors of Vietnam and the Czech Republic have similarities when coal is still the main source of energy for the electricity supply. Therefore, the experience of the partner from the Czech Republic in the electricity industry, energy transition to reduce net emissions, and implementation of international commitments to respond to climate change is considered to be useful for Vietnam in the coming period.