US company Black & Veatch investigates feasibility of carbon capture in Vietnamese coal-fired power plants

Black & Veatch, an engineering, procurement, consulting and construction firm in the United States, will investigate the use of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies at coal-fired power plants in Vietnam.

In a statement on Monday, Black & Veatch said carbon reduction technologies could further reduce emissions at three thermal power plants owned by state-owned Petrovietnam.

The study was commissioned by the Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI), a scientific and technological research center of Petrovietnam.

The three power plants are Vung Ang 1 in the central province of Ha Tinh, Song Hau 1 in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang and Thai Binh 2 in the northern province of Thai Binh. Each power plant has a capacity of 1,200 MW.

“This is the first carbon capture study conducted in coal-fired power plants in Vietnam,” the Vietnam Petroleum Institute said in a statement. The results could help in developing Vietnam's national CCUS roadmap and regulatory framework.

Vietnam's National Energy Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) promotes the implementation of CCUS solutions in industrial production facilities and power plants to achieve a capture capacity of about one million tonnes per year by 2040 and three to six million tonnes per year by 2050.

The six coal-fired power plants included in PDP VIII are expected to generate 6,125 MW of the total 30,127 MW generated by all of Vietnam's coal-fired power plants by 2030.

In line with Vietnam's growth target of sustainable development, all coal-fired power plants are expected to use biomass and ammonia as fuel by 2050. PDP VIII has already suspended dozens of coal-fired power plant projects with a total capacity of 13,220 MW.

According to the International Energy Agency, Vietnam will soon overtake Taiwan to become the fifth largest coal importer in the world. (IEA) said this in the July 2024 edition of the Coal Mid-Year Update report.