The government announced on Wednesday that the construction of Vietnam's first green hydrogen plant will begin next month, as the Southeast Asian country aims to increase the use of cleaner energy while reducing its reliance on coal in its power mix.

The plant will be built by TGS Green Hydrogen in the southern province of Ben Tre, with trial operations set to begin in the first quarter of next year, according to the government.

When hydrogen is collected from water using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, it is classified as "green," and it is considered critical to helping industry decarbonize, despite the fact that the technology is still expensive and in its early stages of development.

According to the government, the VND19.5 trillion ($840 million) plant will create 24,000 tonnes of green hydrogen, 150,000 tonnes of ammonia, and 195,000 tonnes of oxygen per year at first, with capacity more than doubling afterward.

Vietnam, a regional manufacturing powerhouse, aims to nearly quadruple its total installed power generation capacity to 146,000 megawatts by 2030, with a focus on renewable energy and coal reduction.

At the United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November last year, the country pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Source: VNExpress