SK E&S Strengthens Business Cooperation with Vietnam in Hydrogen and Renewable Energy

During the Korea-Vietnam Summit
Multiple MOUs with Local Companies and Government Agencies

Choo Hyung-wook, President and CEO of SK E&S (seventh from the left), attended the "Korea-Vietnam Business Forum Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Signing Ceremony" held on the 23rd (local time) at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, posing with Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and local government agency and company officials. Photo by SK E&S

During the Korea-Vietnam summit, SK E&S strengthened business cooperation with Vietnamese companies and government agencies in the field of eco-friendly energy. Leveraging its accumulated competitiveness as a leader in clean hydrogen, LNG (liquefied natural gas), and renewable energy sectors, the company aims to contribute to the stable power supply in Vietnam and the achievement of the '2050 Net Zero' goal, thereby enhancing economic cooperation and strategic partnership between Korea and Vietnam.

On the 23rd, SK E&S announced on the 25th that it attended the 'Korea-Vietnam Business Forum' and 'MOU Signing Ceremony' held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi, signing multiple MOUs with government agencies and local companies. The signing ceremony was attended by Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Planning and Investment of Vietnam, Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea, Chu Hyung-wook, President and CEO of SK E&S who visited Vietnam as part of the economic delegation, as well as executives from local companies and government officials.

President Chu Hyung-wook first met with Le Xuan Huan, Vice President of PetroVietnam (PVN), Vietnam's largest state-owned energy company, to sign a memorandum of understanding for joint projects in the clean hydrogen sector. Both parties agreed to collaborate on building a hydrogen value chain in Vietnam, conducting project feasibility studies, and creating a policy environment to accelerate local hydrogen business development. They will explore specific ways to utilize clean hydrogen in PVN's infrastructure such as power plants, refineries, and fertilizer factories.

President Chu also met with Tran Viet Truong, Chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee, to sign a cooperation agreement and discuss mutual collaboration plans. Can Tho is the central city of the Mekong Delta region and one of Vietnam's strategic hub cities alongside Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. SK E&S plans to support stable gas and power supply by promoting LNG terminal and power plant construction as well as clean hydrogen ecosystem development in Can Tho and the Mekong Delta region.

Furthermore, SK E&S signed a green power supply business development agreement with Vietnam's TTC (Thanh Thanh Cong) Group to support Korean companies in Vietnam in achieving RE100. Through developing renewable energy-based power projects such as rooftop solar and direct PPAs (third-party power purchase agreements), the two parties aim to supply eco-friendly power to Korean companies located in Vietnam and actively contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Vietnam.

SK Group was the first domestic company in 2021 to sign an MOU with the Vietnamese government for carbon reduction cooperation, exploring business opportunities in clean hydrogen, renewable energy, LNG, and CCS (carbon capture and storage). Taking advantage of the recent Korea-Vietnam summit, SK E&S also signed successive MOUs with the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the National Innovation Center (NIC) to provide more concrete carbon reduction solutions.

Based on its accumulated know-how in various low-carbon energy business areas, SK E&S plans to jointly develop measures with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to accelerate Vietnam's national green growth strategy (GGS). It also intends to support the establishment of a green industrial ecosystem being developed by the Vietnam National Innovation Center, including clean hydrogen, carbon-neutral industrial complexes, and new energy charging stations. Previously, SK Group led efforts to discover future growth engines for Vietnam by supporting the establishment of the Vietnam National Innovation Center with $30 million in 2019.