Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners reaffirm commitment to Vietnam

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind. CIP manages ten funds focused on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X. COP is a leading and experienced provider of project development, construction management, and operational management services to offshore wind projects. COP leads the development and construction management on behalf of CIP on offshore wind projects.

CIP delegates from Denmark followed up on commitments made at the Denmark-Vietnam Sustainable Energy Summit (November 1-2) by sending their founders and senior partners to Vietnam for an extended trip this November.

The aim was to join COP’s local core team in Vietnam to promote fresh commitment and engagement with the Vietnamese government and stakeholders, to strengthen relationships and boost activities to support the renewable energy and offshore wind industries in Vietnam.

The trip sought to expand the understanding of the Vietnamese market to senior figures within CIP, open the opportunities to continually communicate with Vietnamese governmental bodies, and also allow important local partners and suppliers to have direct engagement to support Vietnam’s green transition.

The event followed hot on the heels of a signing ceremony of several MoUs and agreements on November 1, which was witnessed by The Crown Prince and The Crown Princess of Denmark alongside His Excellency The Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, and representatives of the Vietnamese government.

During the trip to Vietnam, CIP delegates took part in several activities. A visit was made to the PTSC MC fabrications yard at Vung Tau port to better understand their facilities and capabilities in relation to a tri-party MoU signed between Vietnam’s PTSC MC, CIP, and Denmark’s Semco Maritime regarding offshore substation supply. The site visit showcased supply chain capabilities that already exist in Vietnam to support offshore wind.

CIP delegates visited PTSC MC fabrications yard at Vung Tau port

Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP), which will develop and construct offshore wind sites on behalf of CIP, has been sharing industry best practices and discussing more collaborations to ensure a successful offshore wind supply chain in Vietnam.

Delegates then visited COP’s new office in Hanoi, which was officially opened and witnessed by the Crown Prince of Denmark on October 31. Participants engaged with the local team to discuss the state of the current offshore wind market and the opportunities and challenges to support the green transition throughout the industry.

The presence of the senior partners and founders from CIP was a powerful inspiration to the local project team – who number almost 20 staff now, most of whom are locally hired – and represents CIP’s commitment to being at the forefront of supporting Vietnam’s offshore wind market.

CIP and COP to discuss about the plan to strengthen its commitment in Vietnam

The senior delegation of CIP, alongside COP team members, also joined a high-level meeting with Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai and His Excellency Nicolai Prytz (Danish Ambassador to Vietnam).

Vice Chairman Hai acknowledged CIP as a top global sustainable energy investor and expressed delight that the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Denmark is in bloom, particularly so soon after the Sustainable Energy Summit between Vietnam and Denmark. The summit focused on retaining and improving diplomatic collaborations, trade and investment, the environment, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges.

In the same week, Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hien of the Central Economic Commission, met the CIP delegation from Denmark and the local COP team, led by His Excellency Nicolai Prytz (Danish Ambassador to Vietnam) and Jakob Baruel Poulsen, Managing Partner of CIP (Denmark).

At the meeting, Poulsen expressed CIP’s interest in Vietnam's renewable energy sector, and offered keen focus to support growth here to meet the nation’s COP26 net-zero targets by 2050. He introduced the formation and development of CIP as well as its activities around the world.

A high-level meeting between CIP and COP delegates and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai & Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolai Prytz

CIP and COP delegates also visited the northern provinces of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh, where further development projects are being planned, to view a potential construction/operational port area during a tour of DEEP C Industrial Zone. This was deemed an opportunity to view the landscape and existing infrastructure, plus the necessary level of port upgrades required to support the offshore wind industry.

Stuart Livesey, Country Director and CEO of COP Vietnam, who is leading the local team for CIP to help mature the local market and build up a pipeline of offshore wind projects in both south and north Vietnam stated, “This was a fantastic opportunity to have the most senior ranking members of CIP take time out of their busy schedules to travel all the way to Vietnam to understand more about the potential the market has for offshore wind, and how CIP and COP can support Vietnam on this green transition journey. CIP's senior partners have personally expressed to me the great value in their trip and that they see huge potential in Vietnam and are committed to having CIP and COP at the forefront of this emerging renewables industry”.

Hai Phong and Quang Ninh are ideally placed to support construction and operation of offshore wind activities in the North of Vietnam, and CIP’s delegation was eager to discuss the industry’s requirements and how collaborations could work in the area.

CIP, the main investor of the La Gan offshore wind Project in Binh Thuan province, is actively looking to develop further multi-GW of related pipeline projects in other provinces in Vietnam along with COP. The recently announced Collaboration Agreement with local company Xuan Cau shows a commitment to delivering here.

At this time, CIP has managed ten green funds with a total capital of approximately US$20 billion and has carried out more than 30 investments in large-scale energy infrastructure assets in the US, the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Vietnam, and elsewhere. CIP’s offshore wind portfolio currently consists of approximately 45GW of projects across development, construction, and operations phases.

COP has a strong and growing local team in Vietnam, and is an experienced provider of project development, construction management, and operational management services to offshore wind projects with CIP. The company is also headquartered in Denmark and boasts offices in Chinese Taipei, the US, Australia, Japan, the RoK, the UK, and Vietnam.

CIP and COP set foot in the Vietnamese market in 2019 and established their first office and company in Vietnam the following year, they now have three offices across Vietnam. CIP and COP continue to focus on delivering offshore wind to support Vietnam with energy security and promote the offshore wind industry and green transition in Vietnam. CIP and COP continue to instigate direct involvement in sharing experience from their global portfolio of projects, where markets are in various stages of maturity in relation to the age of the offshore wind industry.