Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Truong Thanh Hoai holds talks with Siemens Energy on offshore wind power

Delegates attending the meeting from the Vietnamese side included representatives from the Department of Foreign Market Development and Multilateral Trade, the Electricity Authority of Viet Nam, the Vietnam Industry Agency, Vietnam National Industry - Energy Group (Petrovietnam, PVN), and Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC).

Representing Siemens Energy were Niels Steenberg, Director of Offshore Wind Power for the Asia-Pacific region; Oliver Berendt, Director of Offshore Wind Technology Transfer; Christian Ettl, Global Director of Offshore Wind Turbine Plants; and Nhi Le, Managing Director of Siemens Energy Viet Nam.

During a field visit to the nacelle manufacturing plant in Cuxhaven, the largest and most modern nacelle manufacturing plant for offshore wind turbines operated by Siemens Gamesa Energy, Christian Ettl introduced the technology used to manufacture nacelles for offshore wind power and said that investments had been designed with a long-term orientation to meet the development needs of future generations of nacelles. The two sides updated each other on the status of technology transfer between PTSC and Siemens Energy. Deputy Minister Truong Thanh Hoai emphasized that, for Viet Nam, the development of wind power is not only aimed at adding clean electricity to the power system, but also presents an opportunity to establish a new industry, develop domestic manufacturing capacity, and participate more deeply in the global energy supply chain.

Viet Nam has a coastline of more than 3,260 km, with many areas having favorable wind conditions, providing an important foundation for the development of wind power, particularly offshore wind power. The National Power Development Plan identifies wind power as one of the electricity sources set for strong long-term development. The expected market scale will create substantial demand for equipment, technical services, seaports, logistics, construction, installation, operation and maintenance. From an industrial development perspective, it is important to align the development roadmap for wind power projects with the formation and development of domestic supply chains. A market of sufficient scale, with a stable and predictable development roadmap, will provide a basis for international equipment manufacturers to consider long-term investment in Viet Nam, while enabling Vietnamese enterprises to proactively invest in and upgrade their capabilities to participate in the value chain.

At the meeting, the Deputy Minister and members of the delegation discussed Siemens Energy’s long-term strategy and orientation for the Vietnamese wind power market; models for transferring wind turbine technology and the conditions required for their implementation in Viet Nam; criteria for selecting Vietnamese enterprises as technology recipients or suppliers; components, equipment and services in which Vietnamese enterprises could participate in the short, medium and long term; the possibility of investing in manufacturing and assembly facilities, technical service centers, R&D and training centers in Viet Nam; and the possibility of developing a program to assess and develop Vietnamese suppliers so that they can gradually participate in Siemens Energy’s global supply chain.

Deputy Minister Truong Thanh Hoai said Viet Nam highly values Siemens Energy’s experience, technological capabilities and global industrial network. He expressed his hope that following the meeting, the two sides could gradually translate several areas of cooperation into concrete actions, initially focusing on assessing the capabilities of Vietnamese enterprises; identifying components with potential for participation in the supply chain; developing a roadmap for cooperation, technology transfer and human resource training; while also studying the possibility of investment in manufacturing and developing a supplier network in Viet Nam.

Concluding the working program, the Deputy Minister affirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is ready to coordinate and connect Siemens Energy with suitable enterprises, research institutes and training institutions to promote concrete, substantive, long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation opportunities.