The event took place under the framework of the Vietnam Scaling Up Energy Efficiency Project (VSUEE), funded by the Green Climate Fund through the World Bank, with the participation of representatives from industrial associations, equipment and solution providers, and many enterprises interested in energy efficiency (TKNL), the seminar aimed to provide enterprises with a comprehensive view of Vietnam’s current energy efficiency market landscape.

In her opening speech, Ms. Do Thi Minh Tram, Deputy Director General of the Innovation, Green Transition and Industry Promotion Agency, emphasized that Vietnam’s energy demand continues to grow rapidly, with the industrial sector accounting for nearly half of the country’s total final energy consumption. At many manufacturing facilities, equipment such as electric motors, boilers, air compressors, and industrial refrigeration systems remain outdated, consume excessive energy, and reduce competitiveness.

Switching to high-efficiency equipment helps businesses cut costs, improve operational stability, and meet increasingly strict emission requirements across global supply chains. The seminar provided an opportunity for enterprises to gain a comprehensive understanding of the energy efficiency market, update new policy changes, and identify appropriate technology transition pathways amid a strong nationwide green transition.

At the event, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, Head of Clean Energy Department at RCEE NIRAS, presented an overview of the energy efficiency market, showing that Vietnam’s energy consumption grew by 7.2% during 2019–2022, while significant savings potential remains untapped. In the industrial sector alone, industries such as cement, steel, paper, textiles, and food processing can reduce energy consumption by 10–40% if suitable solutions are implemented. However, the market still faces several barriers, including: Low and unstable electricity prices; Difficulty for enterprises to access credit; Lack of a mechanism for energy performance contracting (EPC); Limited data and insufficient project evaluation capacity among banks and enterprises.

In this context, the Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) is considered a crucial financial instrument for driving energy efficiency investments. With a USD 75 million guarantee facility and USD 3 million for management costs, the RSF reduces credit risk for financial institutions lending to energy efficiency projects. An additional USD 8.3 million in technical assistance supports enterprises, banks, and equipment suppliers in energy audits, environmental reporting, capacity building, and developing high-efficiency product strategies.

Besides overall insights, participants also heard practical perspectives from enterprises on approaches and real impacts of energy efficiency solutions in industrial production.

In the field of cooling and ventilation, the Center for Energy and Green Growth Research (CEGR), in collaboration with Spacecooling Vietnam, presented the VRD-THVI cooling solution for industrial facilities. According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan The, Director of Spacecooling Vietnam, trial installations at several factories showed 36% electricity reduction compared to traditional systems and could reach up to 60% with optimized operation. Some real project results include: Cao Nguyen Cattle & Dairy Farming JSC: saved 256,700 kWh/year and reduced 169.22 tons of CO₂; M8 Garment Factory in Nam Dinh: achieved an average 25% electricity reduction after system improvements.

Accordingly, delegates also listened to the experience sharing of approaching the energy saving market from the technology solution provider. Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Representative of Vietnam Automation and Energy Solutions Company Limited (PASCO), presented two groups of strategies being applied. The first group focuses on raising awareness and assessing the current situation, through workshops, seminars, sharing case studies and measuring parameters such as O₂, CO, exhaust gas temperature, and combustion efficiency to point out “loss points” and potential savings of 8-20%. The second group is tasked with creating clear ROI reports and training engineers, utilising transparent calculations of savings and a payback period of 6-18 months. Additionally, they will organise optimal operation training for technical staff at the factory. From these two strategic groups, PASCO presents outstanding results at major industrial customers, including Yamaha Motor Vietnam Factory and Suntory Pepsico Factory (saving about 15% energy per month), as typical examples of applying smart combustion technology and optimising energy efficiency in practice.

Another key highlight was the analysis of economic and environmental benefits from adopting energy efficiency solutions and using high-efficiency equipment. For example: Air compressor or lighting systems upgrades help to decrease nearly 19% electricity cost reduction and over 33 tons of CO₂ cut annually; or halving lighting costs and cutting 114 tons of CO₂ when switching to LED lighting. Environmental benefits combined with economic benefits help businesses improve their ability to meet ESG standards, while also easily accessing green capital and international certifications such as ISO 50001, LEED or EDGE.

The seminar showcased the collaborative efforts of government agencies, enterprises, and financial institutions in promoting the adoption of high-efficiency equipment and unlocking the energy efficiency potential of Vietnam’s industrial sector. The insights and experiences shared at the event are expected to encourage enterprises to take a more proactive approach in investing in technology, reducing production costs, and enhancing competitiveness in the green transition process.